WALLY: The Novelization, Humanized!
by Exists In Theory
Summary: It's exactly what the title says, the entire film with all the robotic characters human, with elements of sci fi and detailed story telling structure thrown in. This is my very first published fanfic. Feel free to R&R. Rated TEEN for some graphic content.
1. Chapter 1: Intro and Disclaimer

Author's note:

**As the title says: the novelization of the entire film of WALL-E with all its robotic characters human. Though I had made some changes in description to fit real effects of humans, and a few ideas of my own thrown in, but it's still all like the original film. **

Genre: Sci-Fi / Romance

**Note: This is my very first published FanFic, so if you spot any major mistakes or inconsistencies, or if you have any ideas you wanna see in the story or future chapters, let me know so I can edit it (grammer errors i wouldn't be too worried about), and PLEASE don't chew me out over it! I have seen WALL-E over 100 times, but I am still new to writing.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the copyrights to WALL-E or PIXAR Studios. This story is not used for profit. So if Andrew Stanton or any person associated with creating the best Disney/Scifi/Romance/animated film ever, is reading this, PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

CHAPTER1. INTRO

Earth. A world long forgotten. A once terrestrial beacon of life now scarred by its former inhabitants and their artificial leavings, now an impurity floating around in space, a ball of garbage so to speak. Such an ironically laughable thought that it's the only known habitable planet in the known universe, if anyone could've seen it now….

However, no one can or ever will again, now that it is by definition: devoid of life. An entire planet with absolute zero population, the former twelve billion inhabitants left their mark, or marks that can be seen from space by new landscapes made entirely of garbage, if it could be seen. Even the air is subsequently thick from pollution and the landmasses are almost unrecognizable. Entire continents covered, reshaped, and transformed into a combination of tundra and desert like wastelands solely by plastic, paper, and metal waste; every city now giant junkyards, buried by mountains or towers of trash if seen from afar.

Here, in the Buy N' Large, or BnL for short, Cleanup Sector _NA-001_, formerly known as New York City, it is barely what it used to be like by the humans who lived here. "The once mighty iconic buildings of downtown Manhattan now dwarfed or were buried by the even taller copious numbers of towers made entirely of trash cubes, thousands of feet high and stretching on for miles in all directions. The once water filled bays of the Hudson now dried up polluted  
valleys by the receded Atlantic. Old buildings and bridges mostly rusted and  
eroded away by the etchings of time, nature, and man's impact. Garbage and the  
howling volatile winds is the only predominant feature present in the once  
recognizable metropolis …but not the only thing in this hellhole."

A faint but clear chirping of music could be heard, like a whisper in the winds of the dead city. In the distance, something moves amongst the heaps of trash, traversing the streets, a single human.

Maybe it isn't so devoid of life…

A lone human male walked around the avenues of trash towers, strolling across the desolate littered streets carrying out his job, or "directive" as it is also called. Sounds of music coming from him, giving off the only sign of life in this place.

He stops near a small, ancient mobile compactor nearby, one of many around the Sector. Wielding a shovel in his heavy-duty gloved hands, he begins scooping a pile after pile of  
the land's indefinite filth into the device and activated it. The sound of its obsolete and worn hydraulics grinding as it compresses the garbage into a cube echoing through the streets. Still not silencing the sound of upbeat happy music from the human's musical device, an ancient cassette player, eroded and abused with slight static, but playable. The compactor opens and spits out a one by one meter cube of junk, weighing roughly fifty kilos. The human then  
picks it up with practiced ease and carries it behind his back. Another life form, a mutt canine, follows right behind him.

After some considerable climbing and carrying up a height of trash, the human finally stacks the cube along with others on the top of the trash tower. The human paused for a moment, leaning against the cubes trying to catch his breath from such labor. He wore a very old, ratty, and dirty coverall jumpsuit, its bright yellow cloth now coated with stains of dirt, dust, grime, sweat, oil, grease, and god-knew-what other impurities he was covered in. His name, Wally, barely readable on the similarly worn red patch explicitly roughly stitched on his left breast side, its letters BNL all but faded. He stood five foot and seven inches, and looked in his late  
twenties to early thirties. His exposed areas of skin had a sun-bleached shade of light brown from the dust and unforgiving sun, his dark brown hair an unruly mess akin to a dust mop.

He looks back up to the cubes in front of him. "Oh!" something caught his attention, a shimmering object from one of the cubes.

He grabs it, it doesn't budge, and he tries harder, grunting for more strength, still nothing; and now yanking on it with his feet on the cubes, pulling with all his might. Finally the shinny object breaks free with a sudden force that Wally falls flat on his back, but safely not over the edge. He sits up; simply starring at the object he pried free, just a circular aluminum trash lit.

Huh? He wondered how something so… simple would make him work himself to  
just know what it was. Such curiosity he had.

He looks up at the falling sunset just above the horizon; his protective UV goggles shielding his unseen eyes from the harsh rays, even at this time of day. It'll be dark soon; he gets up and prepares to leave. Still clinging onto the lid, he slings it over his back along with a utility bag. He turns off his cassette player which is slung on his belt, dead silence now filling the metropolitan void.

"Hal!" he whistles for his canine companion to come with him, back down the 3000ft trash tower in a spiraling makeshift ramp, slowly making his way smoothly but at unease at the sight of a long way down to the streets below.

******Editing by Spring-Heel-Jacquelin, and thank you!**  



	2. Chapter 2: The Long Walk Home

**As i said before and will again until this story is over: I do not own Wall-E nor do i own Pixar**

CHAPTER 2. WALK HOME

It's a far enough distance to traverse through the toxic city to get lost, as Wally traveled on foot down the streets from the mountains of trash in former Central Park. Old buildings crumbled and towers of garbage cubes proudly standing as far as the eye could see but he remained unfazed, remaining oblivious to Buy N' Large mega corporation logos, similar to the one on his uniform. Holo-screens materialize from literally everywhere, activated by the motion of his presence and flashing endless advertisements of a planetary consumerist government that no longer existed. BnL shopping, BnL bank, BnL restaurants, stores, skyscrapers, BnL everywhere!

He passes Wall Street, old newspapers scattered all over the ground, barely legible from the dirt and weathering, reads "TOO MUCH TRASH! EARTH COVERED! BNL CEO DECLARES GLOBAL EMERGENCY!"

Wally reaches an elevated maglev train station, the train itself derailed and eroded on the spot where it was abandoned so long ago. Wally notions for Hal to follow, as he hops down on the tracks and continues walking, a short cut home, but not a pleasant one.

He keeps looking ahead, for all around him, there were more humans; dead humans. Skeletal remains all wearing the same uniforms as Wally, their bodies scattered and forgotten like the garbage city they were cleaning, and all but decomposed by nature and time. He remembers this place; he was born and raised in this. He couldn't escape it nor change it, it was all his life and job as well as for his fellow cleanup workers, participating since early childhood in excavating the dystopian city, no matter what. It was all part of a global effort that started a very long time ago, by what was left of the governing Buy N' Large to clean the planet for people who left on ships that had set sail for the infinite vacuum of space, with a certain few millions of selected laborers, including Wally's predecessors and ancestors, to do the work of the societies that created this mess had left them behind while on a cruise in the heavens; but for reasons he doesn't know, never returned, he forgot how long it's been since they left in the year 2105, decades, maybe centuries passed.

The job itself was deadly; there were constant fatal accidents from falling off the trash towers to being buried alive from collapsing tower landslides. Extremely powerful sandstorms wrecked the most havoc in any area of the sector along with the cause of destroying untold years and lives worth of labor. Disease was commonplace as products of harmful pollution and mass starvation, medicine became scarce to crude improvising to eventually nonexistent, allowing pandemic to spread, people dying off by the hundreds every day. And all of these natural forces have lead to violent civil unrest from the workers turning on each other fighting for survival. Over time, the workers died off by the thousands to the millions, and when Wally was first able to use a shovel, there were very few left, less than a thousand in the sector; of the dwindling tens of thousands globally. Every year, they succumbed to the uninhabitable environment or killed each other off one by one. Only Wally himself barely survived and he was just a child. There were probably a few more like him scattered across the globe; but like Sector _NA-001_, they were all dead and forgotten, virtually at the edge of extinction.

There is uneasiness in him as he kept walking, avoiding looking at his fallen brethren but snapped back into reality by a sharp pain.

"AAh!" he shouts and holds his bleeding foot in reflex.

Collecting himself, he glimpses under his heavy duty work boots and sees that they're completely through the soul, blood trickled profusely out of his realizes as he looked at the piece of metal shards along the corroded tracks he stepped on and pierced his foot, and appears to be more along the way. Wanting to get home in time or be lost in this city, at night, in toxic air, alone, he had to find replacements.

He makes his way carefully around the mass grave of his fellow workers. There must be a hundred bodies that were unmoved from the spot they dropped dead, some completely buried in trash and sand, and few with wearable clothes, let alone boots. Finally he spots a usable pair, still fit to the skeleton of its deceased owner. From the looks of it, this man was still working when he died; a cube still clung in his arms, faithfully carrying out his directive until death took him over.

Wally's memories made him feel unbearable sadness for his fallen comrades; he knew them, almost every single one of their faces and voices, he knew them since his first memories as a helpless orphan. He remembered them alive as if it were yesterday, he considered them as his "brothers," the closest thing to family he ever had because they were all he knew. Sure they turned on each other and him when there was no food left to survive, resorting to looting, murder, even cannibalism. He still considered them the only family he had. He couldn't bring himself to kill them in defense, he just ran away, cowardly hid and waited until the mass killing ended. Now, seeing all those he knew dead and rotting everywhere… Since then he never tried to look back at them again, only at a time of absolute need, and that need was now.

Wally looks over the bodies scattered about, they were still wondering the streets of an uninhabitable wasteland and cleaning a long hopeless cause until they gave their last breath for it yet they didn't. Deep down, he felt like a grave robber; worse, felt guilty for them to die and not him.

_'They don't need to worry about their troubles anymore, and another man's death is another man's survival,'_ He shook the thoughts of dread from his mind as he respectfully and carefully exchanged his boots with the other worker, trying hard not to think about the feelings he felt when they died.

* * *

Now walking again along the eroded maglev tracks, sporting new boots, he chirps triumphantly as he and Hal made their way down the tracks to lower Manhattan. He climbs off the tracks as he reaches his exit station, Hal following closely behind him.

He passes a series of check stands for the train station, suddenly a hi-tech holo-Ad appears on the walls, displaying static images of Luxurious BnL starships leaving Earth.

A voice comes on over the ad:

_"TOO MUCH GARBAGE IN YOUR FACE? THERE'S PLENTY OF SPACE OUT IN SPACE!"_

Images of workers like him still on the surface, all of them content of cleaning the ruined landscape around them, smiling like a janitorial advertisement.

"_BNL STARLINERS LEAVING EACH DAY, WE'LL CLEAN UP THE MESS WHILE YOUR AWAY!_"

At last he reaches the last road to his destination. As he steps onto the ramp, a huge holo-Ad appears overhead. The same announcement voice returns:

"_THE JEWEL OF THE BNL FLEET: THE _AXIOM"

An image of a gigantic starship sailing gracefully through space, its images shift to its luxurious interior, looks like an artificial paradise, literally. Indoor sun, sky, people swimming, getting massages, tans, steamy entrees, and many other luxuries Wally couldn't even imagine.

"_SPEND YOUR FIVE YEAR CRUISE IN STYLE! WAITED UPON 24 HOURS A DAY BY OUR FULLY AUTOMATED CREW, WHILE YOUR CAPTAIN CHARTS A COURSE FOR NONSTOP ENTERTAINMENT, FINE DINING, AND WITH OUR ALL ACCESS HOVER-CHAIRS, EVEN GRANDMA CAN JOIN THE FUN, THERE'S NO NEED TO WALK!_"

He has seen these ads before, but he despised them for showing things these overly spoiled humans enjoyed while he was straneded here on this planet, not to mention his other companions' dead and rotting away without a care from anyone on these moving representative pictures of the society they served and were abandoned by; and those 'people' will never know who the workers were or what they lost while on this world.

Disgusted and unwilling to watch more, Wally continues on his walk home as the ad goes on.

"_THE _AXIOM,_ PUTTING THE STAR IN EXECUTIVE STARLINER_"

Then another image appears, a man in a fine suit, middle aged, wearing an executive BnL pin on his lapel. Shelby Forthwright, the annoying overly optimistic BnL C.E.O. waving off the massive ship during launch.

"_Because at Buy N' Large, space is the final fun-tier!_" The great ship's engines thunderously lift it off as the holoscreen fades away, overlooking an enormous man-made concave, miles wide and thousands of feet deep in the dried up Hudson Bay. It is the launch pad for the _Axiom _as seen in the ad, now empty like the Grand Canyon.

He walks on the Brooklyn Bridge or what's left of it that hasn't collapsed; its main brick suspension towers still standing, sections of the bridge still attached. Wally spots a mammoth vehicle near the broken edge of the crossing.

"Finally," Wally thought as he walked up to the large truck, a Tonka-like transport with treads, broken down on the bridge, with other smaller vehicles scattered about. He pulls a lever on the side of the back, the sound of loud and obsolete hydraulic actuators activating, lowering a ramp.

Finally, Wally is home from another day of hard labor.

* * *

**Sorry for the excessive editting, just trying to get all the grammer and story flow right. AND THANK YOU Spring-Heel-Jacquelin FOR ALYOU EDITTING:)**


	3. Chapter 3: Wally's Home

**Took a bit of editing to get this one right. Once again, i do not own the rights the film or its creators**

* * *

CHAPTER 3. WALLY'S HOME

The massive steel ramp of the utility earth-mover opens to reveal his home.

This truck is in essence, his house. Inside, rows upon rows of rotating shelves filled with salvaged trash, or to him: treasures; interesting items he curiously found and collected from the trash-compacting over the years, probably since he first picked up a shovel. And since then he has retrieved and compiled seemingly everything random he could find: old broken children toys, parking cones, pony ride stands, hand tools, antique clocks, old books, Christmas lights, utility-home appliances, hardware, weird clothing, a drum, signs, anything.

Wally takes off his new boots and gloves, humming cheerfully to the tunes of the music from earlier as he finally settles down for the day. He removes his goggles to expose his spectacles and his large hazel eyes. He winches as his eyes adjust to the harsh light flooding inside the truck. He hangs his boots, gloves, and goggles near the entrance as he walks down the center aisle to the other end of the truck, dusting off and unzipping his filthy coverall; he has no shirt but is still wearing a ratty pair of work-pants underneath. He drags his cut up feet to his humble section-of-the-truck of a home; a torn up fabric sheet with its ends tied to metal rods on opposite sides with another sheet draped over it with a tattered pillow on one end, resembling a ratty improvised hammock, his bed. A stack of car batteries stands next to where he sleeps, wired to a switch to all the hanging Christmas lights in the truck, that serve as the only light source.

Wally sets down his bag and suit, collapsing on his hammock, Hal lays on the floor exhausted from the walk as much as Wally was. His whole body is sore to his bones, but he didn't mind though, for he has grown use to the stresses and pain of heavy-lifting physical labor, and his body showed it.

Despite his unhealthily thin frame he was physically fit enough for the work, having barely survived starvation on canned food and collected ground/rainwater, sanitary or not. His skin was totally fifthly from almost two lifetimes worth of stoop labor in the dirt, and not being bathed in a very, _very_ long time. He felt somewhat uncomfortable that his unclean skin was coated with a layer of sweat from the scorching 40˚+ Celsius heat; and his body was pale white from wearing the work suit that protects him from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. The areas of his skin that was exposed to the sun had extreme tans, mostly on his forearms and face (except where the goggles shielded his eyes); making it all appear as a very badly burned farmer's tan.

Of all the things that made his body look eroded and ugly, were the numerous, almost unaccountable marks of past injuries that covered his body from head to toe. All the scars were the marks left by the dangerous, unforgiving work and environment. There were scars after scars of healed or partially healed scrapes, blisters, cuts, calluses, burns, and gashes all over his arms, legs, torso, and some on his face, most of them old and some recent (the latter being that of his foot), and more to add to his already grizzled body every new day of working; every inch of him was weather-beaten, making his skin as coarse as fine leather in most places. And with no proper medical supplies that he did not possess nor did he have the knowledge on how to tend to himself, Wally could only live with the almost endless pain of new wounds and reopened, infected ones on a daily basis.

The most striking features of him were on or in his torso and his right arm. A small, crude looking device, embedded inside the front his chest, the shape and size of an ancient cell phone with scar tissue surrounding it. It had a glowing yellow energy meter, with an electrical socket built into it. It's some kind of pacemaker, but was a very downgraded version of one, having a limited battery life and required external recharging.

The second feature of him was his right forearm, a myoelectrical trans-radial prosthetic. It was lightweight, but looked crude with different pieces of metallic casing bolted or welded together, like it was broken and rebuilt several times, by hand and with only one hand. Its internal workings were en-caged on one side, exposing wires and servos. The sturdy hand's titanium fingers and joints were worn rough with scratches and nicks from all the work he does. There's a long scar that runs from where his mechanical arm meets flesh at the elbow, up the back of his arm where it splits into two different long scars. One travels over his chest to his pacemaker, it contains the biodegradable line that supplies power to the arm. The other scar runs up his neck, and into the back of his head into his cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls motor functions. This scar contains the nano-fiber wiring that processes bio-electric signals in his brain, allowing him to control his arm, through a neural link at the speed of his thoughts. The arm lets him to lift considerable heavy weighing objects like trash cubes, and has no sense of touch in that arm so he can't feel pain. At the cost of drawing small amounts of power from his pacemaker and it itched at the wiring scar where it connected to him constantly.

He looks exhausted from just taking a look at himself, the years of endless labor on him drained his strength, but he was just glad that he had made it through another day and still in one piece, mostly. Wally acquired the majority of his larger scars, especially his prosthetic arm, from accidents when he was doing his directive since he was just a child; he was very clumsy at the time, and he still is. Though for him, the memories of those times as a child-worker are too painful to remember, there was lots of pain inflicted on his body from his contraption of an arm, and there even were no anesthetics or painkillers available back then. The consequences on him and his brethren were worse, trying to get used to his replacement arm and unintentionally harming himself and others. Though he was now used to them to the point that they were finally part of him, and its all that mattered.

After a few minutes of just laying down resting, Wally gets up and decides to find his form of relaxation in this hellhole, he removes what appears to be a video cassette from a toaster, with its title still readable on the old tape: _"Hello Dolly"._

Placing it in an old VCR, he turns it on, and an ancient TV screen flickers and comes to life as the cheerful tune of actors dance and sing _Put On Your Sunday Clothes. _The image and sound quality is poor, but Wally doesn't mind. As he hums to the music, he pulls out what he found today from his bag and sorts them out. He remembers the trash lit he unreasonably took home, but felt an urge to dance to his favorite tune with it like a hat like the actors do.

He pulls out an unsolved rubrics' cube, "Oh!" as he sets it aside, thinking about how to solve it later. He then pulls out a spork, and has truthfully never seen one before; he stares at the collection of spoons and forks, confused.

At his wits end, he sets it in between. "_Eh, I'll figure it out later_"

And finally, he picks out a rectangular silver object (a lighter) out of the bag, and without looking he flips a switch, and the rows of shelves rotate to reveal a box full of them, he places it in with the others, and carefully aligns them.

"_Perfect_!" He nods in approval to himself over the precision of his work of placing one of hundreds of lighters in a single mass.

As he finishes his collection, he is drawn to new music coming from the video playing on the screen.

It's not like _Put On Your Sunday Clothes_ where it was so cheerful and energetic; no, this one has a soft, slow, and sweet sound. A male actor is singing along with a beautiful woman on the TV screen, in a passionate tone, gently kissing her and holding her hand.

Wally is instantly mesmerized by this image. He slowly brings up his cassette player and presses RECORD without looking away from the TV screen.

"_And That Is All…That Love's About…_

_And We'll Recall…When Time Run's Out…" _

Wally is fazed by the beautiful image before him, thinking of the picture itself as the concept of something you doesn't understand, but you just know. Something he learned to be a happy feeling, called "Love".

"_That It Only….Took A Moment…._

_To Be Loved…._

_A Whole…Life …Loooooong."_

Wally just stood there, still fazed by the song that just played, it seemed so warm, so safe, so full of kindness and caring. To hold a woman's hand, feeling all of her warmth run through and feeling it to be the whole world. It felt like the greatest thing in the universe, having another human being give themselves to you and you give them all your emotions and feelings for one another; if he could experience it himself.

He became so lost in thought he realized he was holding his own hands, the cold of his metallic hand grasping his flesh hand snapping his senses out of trance, feeling the void of isolation instead of the warm fantasy of the warm company of a beautiful woman.

He lowers his hands and arms, with a sigh of disappointment, wondering how something like that could possibly exist. What is beautiful here anyway?

He pushes those thoughts in the back of his mind as he grabs his bag and goes outside.

* * *

The hot sun has disappeared below the horizon and gave way to a remarkably purple evening twilight along the western horizon. Hal sniffed around outside the truck with his playthings as Wally cleans out his bag. The winds slightly picking up felt good on his scarred, bare chest after a long day, it was among the only forms of physical comfort he knew, even over sleeping.

A small hole in the brown clouds above opens up. Wally takes notice, pausing and looked up to be entranced by a sight he has seldom beheld: the polluted clouds have parted to reveal the darkness of outer space. A void of incomprehensible vastness and the realm of existence for billions upon billions of stars shining all at once, lighting up the sky like diamonds.

He has never seen a starry night sky, at least not one with starlight that seemed bright enough to shine through the haze and the trash that somehow was in orbit. It was a beautiful site, like seeing the whole universe for all it was for the first time.

Remembering the word beautiful, Wally presses PLAY on his recorder; the soft and loving tune of _It Only Takes A Moment _played out.

With the song in the background, and the starry sky above him, he allows his mind to wonder, remembering about the ideas of beauty, companionship, and love. It must be as a wonderful thing as the rarity of a clear night sky. Something so inviting and majestic like the infinite reaches of space, the distant stars and worlds that harbor the secrets of life and the unknown was what must be like people holding hands.

"_Maybe..." _he thinks aloud, "_beautiful is up there"_ Just imaging how beautiful love was. Wonderful. Heavenly. Unreachable...

As comforting and inviting as the song and sky say about how great a thing love can be, yet it was just like the stars: something that he can never actually feel, grasp, or hold. It wasn't something in the air he just catch like a paper leaf in the wind. There is nothing that he could ever grasp on this world to feel so loved, Wally was just one man (most likely the only man left) stuck on a lonely planet and no one that he knows, probably in all of humanity, even exist.

He felt like the sky was entrancing and haunting to him, having seen a rare, beautiful thing that reminded him that he could never treasure it personally, like it was taken from him. He somberly looks up into the sky with the eyes of an abandoned child...

_"Maybe…Love… is up there." _

He feels something all too familiar, something he felt since the day he never had any form of human contact (if Hal qualifies for any exception), not just in population count, but in relation or significant bond to any human being. He felt this way since losing his fellow workers, including the other humans who fled Earth. Not since as far as his memories could reach. Certain images of faces he once knew, called parents, who brought him to this world of all worlds; who faded out into nothing as he could not remember who they were or what happened to them. After that image in his head, he knew he was orphaned, raised in this ugly world by the brutal hands of nature, with only his fellow workers to care for him; until they all died when he was still young. He was only taught to read, speak, survive, and collect trash, nothing else, until he joins his fallen brethren the day he drops dead as well, spent and worked to death like everyone else has.

He worked and worked like he was told to, unfazed by his dead and dying coworkers; even when some of them tried to kill him for survival necessities. All he could do was run and hide, and do what he could do to clean up; do his routine, his directive, his down to earth job until he dies, the purpose he was unwillingly given. He cursed everything that happened to the world he now solely resides, for causing the roots of the problems for him being stuck on Earth to watch everyone he knew die, then be stuck on Earth by himself, causing the feeling to transpire in the first place. Questioning whether or not he was fortunate to have lived through what no one else could, he doubts the purpose of his very existence for him to have such feelings, he knew of this feeling since his first memories; but never realized how bad this feeling is, over the long untold years of his life on this world until now…he was all alone...

Wally snaps back into reality. He could barely hear his music from a raging howl sound and felt his skin tingle from a pretty fast-blowing cold wind into his bare chest. He notices the winds are really fast now, the hole in the sky was gone. He looks around to assess his surroundings.

On the night side of the horizon, something amassing in the distance, it was big, and growing upwards, forward, and fast; an enormous wall of dust that is headed straight for the city outskirts, towards his home, darkening the sky in it's wake; a sandstorm.

It hits him that these furies of the Earth are deadly; he's seen firsthand their seer power and survived several, barely. He hastily cleans the rest of his bag and closes that hatch, but froze when he forgot Hal as he's barking outside. He lowers the ramp again "HAL!" He gets back in, just as the first columns of dust start blowing into the truck, but he manages to close the ramp in time.

Now that they were safe and sound, Wally slumps to the floor, still getting over just almost being caught outside in a sandstorm.

Hal gives Wally a pleading look. Remembering he hasn't feed him or himself yet, Wally gets up and finds a stack of BnL spongecake, canisters of collected rain water, and canned beans. He unwraps a cake for Hal and he greedily bites it away from Wally. He then unwraps one for himself as he opens a small compartment in his prosthetic arm, containing small hand tools, and pulls out a knife. He opens the canned beans with relative ease and eats one of the only sources of food he has had as far back as he can remember; aside from collected rain water, it was polluted too but what else was there? Better to be malnourished than dead from starvation.

He notices Hal already dozed off. Tired and exhausted himself, Wally decides to turn in for the night.

He removes his glasses and then, in one well-practiced movement, slid the joint off of his detachable prosthetic arm from its arm-attachment, and placed the arm on a shelf nearby; sleeping with a prosthetic is very uncomfortable on the lump where his forearm used to be.

He switches the Christmas lights off, slipping into the hammock in the pitch black interior. But he won't sleep so easily, the creepy howl of the hurricane-force winds always gave him a spine-tingling chill; and to add to that, his thoughts running freely about the just-discovered pain of loneliness in his isolation from humanity, with no one and nothing to comfort his suffering.

He has always endured suffering alone, but now it was beginning to get to him, the core of his being slowly and surely eroding, going to break down eventually, physically and mentally, like it did his brothers; but he dared not to think about it.

As the night darkens and the sandstorm worsens, it gets colder, sub-freezing. Even in the confines of the truck, away from the 150 kilometer per hour blast of dirt and rocks, he is all curled up against the cold in his hammock, like a baby; his only source of warmth and comfort is the loving tune of _It Only Takes A Moment._

He turns the song back on, though the music reminded him of something he can never have, being able to requite his loneliness, but the soothing music was the only thing that felt like a mother cuddling a child, or a loved one comforting him to sleep.

And it did just that, he grabs the nearest shelf and rocks his hammock like a cradle, closing his eyes and drowning his hearing into the song, giving him _some_ peace over the hellish gale-winds howling outside.

Eventually, exhaustion prevails over his dread as Wally finally falls asleep.

* * *

**If anyone has questions regarding the technologies of Wally's prosthesis, or any technology i describe in this fanfic, let me know so i can explain them, or it'd be easier to Wikipedia search them. The cybernetics will play some part in the human version to fit the original film.**


	4. Chapter 4: Another Day At Work

CHAPTER 4. ANOTHER DAY AT WORK

A warning sound goes off, disturbing the silence of the dark truck interior. Wally's pacemaker was flashing a red light reading: _WARNING! CHARGE LOW! _

Wally stirs, groggy from semi-nightmare-free sleep. His eyelids weighed like a thousand pounds as he tries to waken. Groaning as he tries to move, he falls out of the hammock in the dark, crashing onto the metal floor with a thud. It's so dark he can't find where landed. He's now got a headache from falling face first, and not fully conscious enough to mentally note his detached prosthetic arm, trying to get up, failing to pull himself up.

_"This is gonna be a bad day…" _he groggily comments to himself as he holds his splitting headache.

_Later..._

Miraculously he finds the lever to the door, a sudden and unpleasant sensation stirs him more awake as the suns rays poor in, blinding him, followed by the sting of cold wind on his bare torso, and the loud roar of the hydraulic-actuated ramp lowering. At least he's up, now to charge his pacemaker.

He doesn't fully remember why he has one to begin with. But long ago he knew some people's bodies don't work properly, and even fewer people at young ages, people born with hearts that don't work normally, and are either biomechanically repaired or replaced with prosthetics. As far back as he can remember, he had this heavy, but everlasting artificial cardiovascular device that keeps his heart running, keeping him alive. All he had to do was keep it charged and he'll stay alive.

Now outside, Wally flips open a control panel to the truck, he's holding a long cable attached to his pacemaker as he plugs it into the truck. In a split second, a generator activates from the new plugged in device, transferring energy from solar panels mounted on the trucks roof. In an instant, the electrical charge temporarily zaps him, now fully conscious and charged. He shakes the last bits of sleep off as he walks back inside to prepare for the day.

"_What day?"_ he wonders. It's the same thing for who knows how long. But it's the only thing he can do, giving him what he thinks is his purpose, but could use a change, with more humans to talk to, or a new routine. Remembering the film from last night, he shrugs off his thoughts of that possibility, for his life of collecting trash was all he ever knew or will know.

He's zoned out so much he accidentally steps on Hal's tail.

"AAaah!" Making them both jump; he seems to be ok though, he's been through worse, for Wally found him as a starving puppy wondering through the trash mountains, all cut up from sharp objects everywhere, but saved him from a landslide. Hal on his nametag, he took him home, not that it made him feel less lonely like he just learned, but like everything else he found, was very curious, Hal himself too, but Wally kept an eye out for his well-being.

He point's to Hal and to behind him, "Stay" he says with a stern look. Hal does so and Wally seems to be satisfied. Now suited up, supply bag, shovels in hand, he walks off to work.

* * *

_Scoop, shovel, compact. Scoop, shovel, compact. Scoop..._

So annoying the way he knows how to carry out his task of garbage compacting. At a new spot in town, he shovels pile after pile into one of the many hydraulic compacters throughout the city. Making as many as 10 cubes every minute, ready to make another tower along with all of the monumental trash skyscrapers.

Occasionally Wally comes across something to add to his bag. One particular item, he examines with complete bafflement. An article of clothing he doesn't recall, a thin strip of cloth with two large spheres like cups made into them.

"Hmm" he slowly examines it for a second, bringing them close and…over his eyes. "Whoa!" that's weird, why would you put this over your eyes anyway? He takes the garment off his face (it's a bra btw) and tosses it into his bag.

Later he finds interesting devices that day. Ones that make distant chirping sounds coming from somewhere (car keys), one with a bouncing ball on a string that hits him in the face (paddle ball), and a foam displacement device that knocks him off his feet (fire extinguisher)!

The day drags on as cube after cube, and item after item is stacked away, Wally never stopping for anything, until he finds a big refrigerator in his path of shoveling.

Wally tried opening it, but It wouldn't budge an inch. So, his mechanical arm opens up his tool compartment and pulls a tiny, silver cylinder out. He pushes a button, and a red beamed pulse sonic laser emits, cutting through the fridge door like a knife through warm butter. The fridge door's fall off, revealing something Wally has never seen before.

Small. Green. Biological. Wally looks at it, focusing his eyes on the unfamiliar object, a plant; a simple weed.

"Oooooh!" his curiosity peaked, he takes in the small thing. It looked so frail, so insignificant, but so alive; a tiny bright thing against the ugly brown of the world around it. Nothing like the inanimate objects he found. He felt it to be something special; like Hal, something to look after.

He carefully scoops up the plant into his hands, and places it into one of his old shoes in his bag. He wipes off a spec of dirt from it; he is now bewildered by this tiny thing, it looked, "_beautiful" _he thought.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Wally decides to call it a day. Having found a few more objects to add to his collection, he makes his way home, his mind still on the plant he found. Thing back to the word he used to describe it, beautiful, it truly was something different, but why, he could not figure out.

Contemplating his thoughts as he reaches for the door…

Something catches his eye…

* * *

**Guess who the new character coming is! _And_ in human form which i had alot of fun writting him/or her!**


	5. Chapter 5: Eve

**Had fun with this one, making the perfect appearance for Eve, but more details will be added in Chpt 6. Disclamer: I never owned or ever will own wall-e.**

CHAPTER 5. EVE ARRIVES

"What the?"

Wally stares at the bright red circle on the ground, appears to have materialized out of nowhere. He removes his UV goggles, keeping his corrective lens on, maybe he was seeing things. It was moving or flickering, maybe it was another weird object he could add to his collection, but it doesn't seem right, "_what the hell is it?" _

As he reaches to touch it, the red circle suddenly moves away from him, to the other side of the bridge.

"_Maybe it's a bug"_, Wally sets down his things as he walks over to the mysterious circle. It moves again, like it's trying to get away from him. He tries blocking it, but it continues to move. It does a slow circle around Wally, but as he tries to twist around to see it without moving, he follows the dot in a complete 360 and falls over. Wally feels stupid for falling for that failure of common sense of moving around, but it's like he's getting some fun out of it. A bright little thing to chase around. Finally it moves down the bridge at high speed. Wally runs after it, trying to catch it. He playfully chases it down the street and into the open Hudson valley.

Then, unbeknownst to Wally as he is so distracted by this one red dot, another laser dot appears behind him, then another, tens of them, hundreds, thousands of them, all in a giant circle, appearing on the buildings and quickly traveling down the buildings, streets, and into the dry river, with all of them enclosing around a center one, the one Wally which is after.

Having chased this thing in circles, the strange red dot finally stops in the middle of the deserted valley. "Aha!" Wally yells in triumph. He still doesn't notice the other red dots enclosing him around the center dot.

As Wally reaches to grab the dot, "Huh?" he doesn't grab it, it's just light.

The other dots finally triangulate with the center dot. He notices the ground is shaking and the air getting hotter.

"HUH?" He exclaims until he hears a low roar, something like the sandstorms, but different, like something fiery and mechanical. Wally felt heat coming down on him from above, he looks up, and finally sees the source of the situation. It looked like the sun was coming down on him, but rather it was a ball of fire.

Then it split into three balls of fire in the air, and they coming down right above him fast!

"Aaaaaaah!" in panic and reflex he runs in any direction he can to avoid the threat. The noise has become very loud and roaring, and scorching hot and windy altogether. Wally losses his footing and is blown off his feet by the unknown object, a column of fire, smoke, and kicked up dirt filling the air with deafening sound; then it suddenly winds down in a mechanical whir, all is calm.

Wally can barely move, being so shaken as he risks a peak at the source of the noise and heat that knocked him down.

The dust is still thick to see through, but the ground has now blackened, turned to molten glass, and finally sees the object: a rocket ship.

He slowly gets up, still shaken but now knows what just landed. The spacecraft had three extended engines attached to a tall body. A BnL logo stretched along the side, along with the letters ARV written in futuristic bold on the side. Wally cautious approaches this thing, wondering what it was doing here.

A whirring sound could be hear, causing Wally to jump over the hissing of a hatch opening up at the rear of the unknown ship. Wally dives behind the nearest rock to hide, no more than a few meters away. Something lowers from the opening, a 6ft long cylindrical capsule, made of translucent metal, and Wally noticed a frost layer covering the whole capsule, as ifemerging from a subzero freezer. It was being lowered by the mechanical arm, and letting go of it a few inches off the ground longitudinally, it was leviating.

It looked like a cryotube, but had no seams along its surface to form any kind of opening, like it was one solid piece. A holographic keypad appears on its spotless surface. Through the tinted layers of frost and the capsules semi-transparent material, Wally could make out a silhouette or a shadow within the capsule. It's shape oddly enough resumbled something akin to a body, or an object with long and uneven curvatures. It looks like this capsule was holding something...or _someone_ inside.

Wally watches on in fascination, sinking back behind his cover every time a loud noise is made by these machines. A smaller robotic arm emerges from the ships mechanical arm, punching in some codes into the capsules keypad. As the last code is punched in, the capsule emits a soft whir, getting louder and louder, like its getting ready to-

PSSSSSST!

Wally jumps startled as the pod suddenly hatches open, he cowers behind the rock.

"_What **was** that?" _

Seconds go by without a single sound, drawing in a notion for Wally that all was clear. His curiosity gets the better of him as he hesitantly peeks over, the steam slowly fading to reveal…

A human, thawing and reclined inside the cryopod lifelessly, but upon closer inspection, it was breathing. When Wally focuses clearly at the fully unfrozen human with the steam completely cleared, gasps at the sight before.

The human inside the pod that just opened, was a woman. The most beautiful human woman.

* * *

Eve.

She lay reclined in her thawed out cryopod in deep sleep, like a sleeping angel. An angel with long, straight vanilla white hair that fittingly framed the prettiest face that Wally had ever laid eyes on, or, as she is the only face he has seen in his vivid memory, she was what anyone could imagine as the perfect looking girl: soft cheeks, delicate pink lips, a small nose, narrow jaw, skinny neck, and perfectly tuned skin that looked smoother than the finest memory foam or silk.

The woman suddenly stirred, awakening from suspended animation. She opens her eyes sleepily, turning over to sit up, and at that moment, Wally was suddenly transfixed upon the purist blue eyes he had ever seen; they were bluer than the deepest ocean or the clearest sky, with a twinkle in them akin to starlight.

She slowly steps out onto the ground as she looks around, taking in her surroundings. She stood five foot eight inches, even from afar, her voluptuous body looked impossibly stunning. She looked clean, healthy, and fresh from a long slumber in cryosleep, and she appeared to be young, around her early 20s. She's wearing some sort of hi-tech skintight suit, matching the curvatures of her athlethic female body, with state-of-the-art foldout holopads, bio-scanners, and a wide variety of scientific equipment strapped to her utility belt. She also had built-in antirgravitational servos onto her back piece and the boots strapped on her long firm legs. Her suit was all white like her long hair that ran down the center of her small back; translucent nanowires pulsate in her suit's circuitry, adding technological beauty to her physical magnificence which had more than stole Wally's breath.

Eve punches in a code on the cylinder she just emerged from. In a second, the pod began to separate into pieces, folding into each other and shrinking until the entire thing was a pocket sized cylinder! Wally was amazed, but still focused on her. She just places the cylinder into one of her many side pockets, now pulling out some holopad from her utility belt, scanning the area around her.

Wally was captivated by this maiden's impossible image. She moved around inwith such fluid motion as if she was walking on air itself; the pollution doesn't leave a single microbe of dust on her glorious all-white figurine, the sterility surrounded her like an aurora of her own light, making it almost painful for Wally to seee more of her, like starring into the sun. Having seen nothing but this Earth's ruined landscape and its mountains of trash and the deceased for so long, being accustomed to the simplicities of what other humans have left behind as treasures to him; seeing her now, he looks at her like even the starriest night skies of the entire cosmos are nothing compared to her, and the ugliness of the destroyed environment around her makes him feel out of place, his universe shattered.

She was, to him, the honest to god definition of, "Beautiful"; he muttered under his breath, his head tilted, time seemed to slow as he feels a slow build of something inside, a sense of warmth and yearning that ran through him, feelings of instantaneous attraction and longing he has never felt before.

The ship's robotic arm retracts; Wally is snapped out of his trance at the sudden noise. He ducks again behind his cover, unsure of what these machines were doing by themselves.

He kept his eyes on the woman, who has now moved further away from the ship. A whirring sound can be heard, engines firing up.

_"The ship!"_

Wally runs to escape the approaching blast waves of the launching spacecraft, but unfortunately, Wally is yet again blow over by the heat of the rocket engines as the ship achieved lift off. A column of fire and smoke engulfs the surface; Wally is blown a few meters away, over his head several times. In a few seconds, the roar and heat of its engines got quieter, the ship climbing higher into the polluted sky as it disappears into the clouds.

Shaken, having survived twice from being burned and blown away, Wally raises his head from a ducking position, making sure it's safe. All is calm again.

_"Wait! The woman!"_

He looks around the dissipating column of smoke and dust, but he spots her a few hundred feet away, she was okay, still gracefully surveying the ground as if nothing happened.

She stops for a moment, looking up into the direction the spaceship just took off as if waiting for it to leave. She looks around her, all clear. She raises into the air, spinning lightly, her antigrav boots glowing, but emitting no sound.

"Whoa!" Wally is further fascinated by the female. She could fly?

She stops spinning; her suit now changed into something sleek like it was supposed to move fast. In the blink of an eye, she fluidly whirls off into the distance, like a bird, eager to fly after a long time breaking away from a long slumber; she felt the need to feel free.

She whips around, doing aerobatic circles, rolls, and loops; Wally whistles low at the display of such beauty of the woman in the air and her power of flight, he follows' her fluid movements, trying to keep up to her incredible speed, almost going supersonic as she finishes a high loop. She makes a low pass over him, near the spot she took off; she doesn't notice him, leaving him in the dust of her wake.

She moved so flawlessly, quietly, and smoothly; like she was dancing in the sky, her white hair waving softly like swimming through water despite being in the blast of wind. Wally brushes of his glasses, from the dust cloud and still perplexed if she was a real angel.

"Awwwwh" he cues, lovedrunk at the sight of her swimming through the air at high speed as she leaves contour trails in her wake.

After swift movements around the trash towers, she now hovers over the spot she started from, spinning flawlessly to a stop on the ground, touching down like pretending she was a great dancer at the cresendo of a performance on an emensive stage, being applauded at.

Her hidden audience of one, still behind a large bolder, gazed upon her with large, longing innocent eyes. As he watched her dance through the air, he felt as if he danced along with her, like those in the movie he saw last night, _"I wish I could dance like—No. Dance like that…with her." _He also wondered if he could hold her hand? Maybe kiss her? He realized he wanting, no...needing to see more of her.

Only now did Wally finally understand what the meaning behind falling in love meant, like the scene of _It Only Takes A Moment_, he was now in love.

He was too oblivious to notice his hands clipping away a piece of rock from the bolder. It hit the ground ever so lightly and only giving off a drip of a pebble...

**'KABOOOOM'**

It happened too fast. The rock he was hiding behind exploded in a bright blue-white flash and deafening crack of thunder.

Seen from afar, it formed a tiny mushroom cloud, the explosive sound startling Hal from the truck.

* * *

Eve stared down the direction where the sound came from, her high-frequency hearing detected movement behind her; instinct kicked in and she whipped around in a millisecond with a high-powered Type-2 DEW plasma rifle at hand, aimed dead-center at where she just fired a single shot at. Her eyes are now shielded by a polarized visor and a holographic Heads-Up-Display (HUD), activated by her gun's wireless targeting system every time she drew it for better aim. Behind the digitized mask, her angelic blue eyes were now apathetic and cold blooded, like the eyes of a trained soldier.

She waited for the smoke to clear, to verify what the immediate threat was and if it was satisfactorily vaporized.

Apparently she didn't want anyone or anything watching her joy flight, the only fun she ever gets on her mission to Earth, or her 'directive'. After being in hibernation for long periods of time, she had to shake the last bits of cryosleep out of her system, as fast as the instant thawing was; she is still not fully awake and reactive. The last thing she needed was to be jumped or spied on.

The smoke clears, her weapon still trained on her target, she doesn't move or blink. Only a small portion of the bolder was still standing but now inscribed with a giant smoldering three meter wide hole; its edge's glowing orage hot and it's stone turned to glass from the ionized blast.

_"Hm, at least my reflexes are still sharp."_ she thinks to herself as she hoisters her plasma rifle to her leg strap with practiced flips, Clint Eastwood style; her HUD deactivates, the visor dematerializing into thin air, her eyes now blue and full of sweetness again as if nothing happened.

She returns to scanning the environment around her in a gracious state again. She hasn't noticed a terrified human male bundled up behind what was left of the bolder, trembling uncontrollably from having missed death by a fraction of an inch from the blast by where his head was supposed to be.

* * *

**wish there were features on these sites where you could draw out the characters, so you can know how human eve really looks. And her plasma rifle, btw DEW is short Direct Energy Weapon, a weapon that's projetiles are comprised of forms of pure energy, electromagnetic rays, or superheated gas such as: plasma, pulse sonic, particle beam, carbon lasers, ionized gas. The way i drew it out on a sketch looks like a downsized Covenant plasma rifle from Halo.**


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

**Have better description of Eve up close here , And character-to-character dialogue, and i update as often as i can, and i don't own the film.**

* * *

CHAPTER 6. CONFRONTATION

Eve was scanning everything everywhere she went, using a small, paper-thin electrophoretic holopad that emitted rays of blue light that formed a laser grid upon any object she came across. It processed their material make-up, verifying if it has any biologic content; so far, she hasn't found anything yet, only three processing beeps followed by an _Identified: Specimen Negative_ ping from her scanner.

She started her way from the landing site into Sector _NA-001_, she was going to survey from outskirt to outskirt, to find what she was looking for. But she'd have to do it fast, for she was only given two weeks to scout out 500 square kilometers of barren land.

But she was really moving fast because she couldn't stand two weeks on this polluted rock of a planet. She could enjoy a quick flight, but not the sandstorms, extreme temperatures, or the thick chemically tainted air; she couldn't imagine who could survive out here.

That said person just happened to be following not too far behind her as she made her way into the ruins of the Manhattan battery.

...

Wally kept his distance and staying well hidden in the cover of shadows and trash piles, staying behind her for the past couple of hours.

He had finally stopped shaking from almost being blown to smithereans. When he worked up the courage to peek from the smoldering bolder, he noticed she was gone. His instincts told him to stay as far away from her as possible, but something inside him told that this is the first human he has seen since as far back as he can care to remember, he was still drawn by his inquisitiveness to her. Sure she may be hostile but its better than being totally alone, having the opportunity to have something called "social interaction" for the first time in his life, and with a woman no less. Having once again surrender to his curiosity, he cautiously followed her.

The woman's scanner again turns up negative on some pillars of steel structure in front of her, so she moves on. He went after she was out of sight, careful not to make a sound or give away any indication that signified he was there, and that meant walking in tip-toe steps and holding his breath most of the time.

But now he's dealing with another problem in his mind, how was he going to approach her and to introduce himself, without dying?

Wally's thoughts were interrupted by alarm when he sees Hal approaching the woman; she was searching through car tires in an automotive junk yard. He shakes his head to get his dog to come back to him. But Hal went on, strooding down the piles of trash and towards her.

"Oh no" he whispers, ducking behind cover expecting the worst, he can stand to watch his companion to get blown u-

_'**BOOMM!'** _

A burst of plasma engulfs where he saw Hal was at. Wally gasps wide eyed and gut-punched at the thought that his only friend was just incinerated!

...

Eve had whipped around instantly with her plasma rifle, her cold stare on her face trained on a sound that startled her ever so lightly, its the second time she had to do that, its starting to get to her that there is something drawn to her presence, and she's not going to stay spooked, the best solution would always be to destroy whatever unnerved her.

Through the smoke, a lone canine emerged from the blackened crater where she blasted, and the dog emerged unscathed.

Hal shakes off last bits of dust from his fur as he approaches the human female, his tail wagging. Eve lowers her weapon, a smile of intrigue on her now friendly, and gentle face. She hoisters her gun and pets Hal.

"Awww how cute! A dog!"

Wally heard her from his cover; she had the very sweetest sounding voice he ever heard, probrably the most beautiful sound he's ever heard before. One that rose and fell in smooth harmony like music.

He slowly sneaks a peek over the tires, he is astonished that not only has Hal survived, but the woman has taken a liking into Hal, examining him like she's never seen a real live mutt before.

Hal gets his head scratched and petted on, he licked Eve playfully. She giggles when the dog's licking makes her ticklish. Wally is amazed by her even sweeter and pure giggly voice and the fact that his dog had managed to befriend a deadly female human.

He allows himself to a small chuckle of relief.

Very. Big. Mistake.

Faster than his mind could process that he was being shot at, Wally's cover exploded into a blue ball of fire, the blasts making his eardrums almost bleed.

...

Having detected a soft human vocal source behind a pile of tires, a chuckle as volumous as a scream in Eve's hearing enhancements, she instantly realized she and the dog were not alone. And worse, we're being watched.

In precision and speed, she drew her plasma rifle and quickly unloaded to where her HUD's sonic detection systems have tracked the source of the sound behind a pile of tires.

Eve spots another life form, presumably and astonishingly, a human that's been stalking her. It was cowering to the nearest cover. In a few shots, she blasts the stacks of garbage it's using to hide.

...

Panicking beyond measure, Wally's instincts kicked in as he cowers away to the nearest cover, but again was also destroyed; blinded by fear he makes a run for it, but finds himself at a dead end as he realizes all of the places to hide were blown up.

...

She finishes off blasting away the last tire stockpile.

"_Gotchya"_ She had the unknown human pined down. With no place to run or hide, he dumbstruckingly drops to the ground curled up like a baby, shaking in total fear, expecting the worst. She stops shooting, keeping her weapon locked on to him.

"You!" she shouts at him, the tenderness of her voice was now as cold and hostile as her eyes.

"Who Are You? Why Are You Following Me?"

Wally doesn't answer. He's too terrified and trembling for words. She steps closer to him, never taking her eyes or weapon off of him.

"I Said Who You Are? Respond!" Again he doesn't say anything, "ANSWER ME!" anger in her voice.

He was waiting for the shot that will finish him off. It doesn't happen. But the fear gripping him was convincing enough that he was as good as dead.

But not wanting to die without another look at the most beautiful creature he laid his eyes on, he risks to peek at her.

Very slowly, he raises his head from under his hands, still trembling and curled up like an cowaring child. The smoke was slowly clearing, but he can make out the sight of a white silohette of his attacker.

He first notices from the ground up to a pair of anitgravity boots strapped to long slender calfs, then up to muscularly tuned thighs that were smooth to the touch and could crush steel. He looks up to see a very attractive female torso, one with curves that a supermodel could only dream of having. Her narrow waist and the hardened muscles of her abdominmen were visible through the skintight exosuit. He glances higher, but blushes a shade of red at the sight of her firm, perfectly round breasts. He also finds himself starring down the barrel of her plasma rifle less than a few centimeters from his forehead, its power cell glowing fully recharged.

She was standing directly in front of him in a combat stance, her plasma rifle aimed right between his eyes. He didn't care; he was seeing her up close.

He continued his glances upward, from her strong, femininely structured arms and shoulders, up her narrow neck where the suit meets skin, and to her tenderly sculptured face which still possessed the delicate features of an angel with the face of a trained killer, her white hair cascaded all around her head, framing her face perfectly and glorifying her image.

Her eyes were shielded behind her dark, reflective visor; her expression was unreadable but behind the mask was a face as serious and emotionless as ever, a few threads of hair in her face. She looked him over, after a few tense seconds, her visor deactivates. At the site of her blue eyes once again, time slows down for Wally as he drinks in her sight. The smoke has finally cleared and the sunlight was reflecting off of her white suit. Overall she looked seductively strong; the curvatures of her gorgeous body would intoxicate and inflict lust in any mortal man, but she could also just as easily break every bone in his body, she's even more alluring, even in her dangerous state. She's like a beautiful, deadly goddess incarnate to him.

Eve now had a clear view of the cowering human male before her as the smoke dissipated. Judging from his weathered humble attire, he was a worker; she also noticed a faded BnL logo on that familiar yellow coverall, she realized if he was an actual surviving BnL cleanup worker! Or at least a descendant of one who was wearing a scavenged uniform.

Looking over his pathetically weak physical state and the fact that he is not armed, he was as harmless as a fly. Yet she doesn't loosen her tense stance, he was following her, and more of the reason to consider there is still a possibility of him intending to turn on her; so she's ready to blast him if she even thinks he is a threat. She could even kill him with her bare hands if she wanted to, for her advanced skintight suit had neural controlled strength actuators as thin as the cloth of her suit that acts like an exoskeleton, giving her near-superhuman strength and reflexes, not including the bone and muscle enhancements she was given during training. Since this pathetic guy was rail thin, she could break him in half.

But, she doesn't feel too concerned to kill this poor, helpless man; there was something about him before her...

Their eyes made contact with one another; he saw the utter existence of pure awe and wonder in the laser-like stare of her crystal clear blue eyes, she saw utter innocence in his large, fear-ridden, spectacled hazel eyes. She lets her instincts to kill drain from her, but still in a defensive position to take action.

"Is this your mutt?" she calmly asked Wally, her voice a little more soft this time.

He didn't know what to say, wasn't she just about to kill him or not? Wally realizes Hal approached from behind the woman; motioning for his master.

He nods timidly, almost stop shaking altogether, he slowly reaches out for Hal as he can now sit up a little bit.

She pulls out her holographic scanner again and activates it on Wally, still with her rifle trained at him and in a defensive stance. He is surprised at the bright light shining on him.

Three beeps and a negative ping sound, _"what was that for?" _he thinks. Is she looking for something? Because whatever it is, he wasn't it.

But before he could say anything, the woman hoisters her weapon and walks away without saying another word.

Wally just sits there in the charred ground of where she attacked him, completely fazed at the sight of her up close.

"_She Looked At Me!"_

He sighs lovingly at the clear mental picture of her in his mind. But he didn't even say hello, he mental cursed to himself; at least she let him live another day.

"_Well that's a start."_

* * *

**There will be more dialogue after Chpt 7 "La Veire Rose", going in the flow of chapters like the dvd. **

**Btw, Eve is wearing a full-body suit up to her neck, nothing exposed, just so thats clear, i REALLY wish there was a way to draw them out on here. **

**i know, i know, i can be overly detailing**


	7. Chapter 7: La Vie Ein Rose

**Just to let your emails go answered and for you to sleep a little easier:**

**1) YES i do plan to finish the entire fanfic and not end prematurely, i update whenever school and work are not a factor. 2) YES i own a copy of the film 3) NO i do not own the rights to the film (its called a disclaimer) 4) And thank you for cheering me on!:)**

* * *

CHAPTER 7. LA VIE EN ROSE

It was sundown through the windows of the abandoned shopping center. The quietness was sweetened by the humming sound of Eve's antigravity boots as she glided her way over a heap of trash inside the building in fluid motion. She touches down and walks on as graceful as ever. Not to far behind her, the silence was broken again by the racket of Wally riffling through the trash, trying to get over it, his heavy duty boots kicking up dust and trash everywhere he goes. Eventually he makes it, and quickly catches up to the person he is ever so drawn to. But cautious enough to stay as far out of her way as possible; now that she knows he's here, he still feels fortunate enough to be alive after she tried to kill him. He was still too drawn to her, like a stray dog.

Eve knows he doesn't seem like a credible threat to her, but him following her everywhere she goes is making her feel annoyed, a distraction from her directive. Eve is searching through the shopping center lobby as Wally is atop a flight of stairs, watching her contently. She suddenly looks at him over her shoulder, he jumps thinking shes gonna shoot him; but he ends up falling into rows of carts behind him. Now the situation has become ridiculously humorous; he's trapped in a moving cart down a flight of stairs, screaming past Eve and into the shops front doors, he hit face first with the avalanche of carts pilling up on him, groaning in pain from hitting his face, a mountain of carts on his body, and in humiliation; at least he's alright.

Eve watched in amazement. She knew he was there, for she can hear his footsteps from a mile away. In semi annoyance, she only shot a glance at the young man, trying to make him flinch to shoe him off; only to end in him making a fool of himself and injuring himself. With a pile of a hundred shopping carts pinning him to the front door, a final cart bumps into the pile, making the sliding doors open as if it knew the irony of the situation, now making the carts fall on top of him. She shakes her head in utter disbelief at the site. "Wow" is her only response as she tries to move on to the next area. _"A distraction indeed"_ she thinks to herself.

* * *

Night had fallen upon the city; its cloudy but no sandstorms, all is peaceful. The bright blue lights from Eve's scanner lights up the dark of the dead city. Wally sat atop a giant spherical oil container. He sat there gazing lovingly at the woman who was still doing as she was since she first arrived. She was scanning a run-down fuel processing plant in the city center for any signs of what she was looking for.

Eve reaches a flat area, not to far from Wally's position. She knows he's there, but doesn't bother with him, for after her first day on Earth with a close encounter, she decides to call it a night. She pulls out the cylinder that's her downsized cryopod. She pushes a button and drops the cylinder. Before it hits the ground, it expands into its former, full-sized pod instantly. From afar, Wally flinched at it, as if it was goanna explode in front of her. He wasn't the one for surprises. The pod opened up for her, and she lies down in it yawning tiredly, she briefly glimpses Wally eying her from the fuel tower before the pod closes, she dozes off into much needed sleep.

Seeing the opportunity to get another close look at her, he steps down carefully from the tower, but fails miserably when he clumsily slips and falls over, head over heels. It was about 30 feet, but piles of trash seemed to cushion his fall, but a loud metallic crashing sound and his screams echo through the plant. He hit something hard, has new bruises formed on his head, but was otherwise okay so he dosen't mind, he has had far worse injuries before. He looks over the pile trash in front of the building where the woman took shelter. She hasn't heard him; well, it should be safe. He tip-toed his way over to her pod. It was made of a translucent metal, but strangely no seam lines for it to fold-up, so how could it be one solid piece, he thinks to himself, it must have been a form of nanotechnology, allowing different pieces of matter to fuse or separate at the atomic level. The glassy appearance was all foggy white as he can see through the upper half of the container, seeing the sleeping figure of Eve. He stares through the glassy barrier longingly at her; she looked so peaceful, so pretty; the barrier blocks his viewing from any further, he is pressing his glasses and hands on the container, vexed by her image.

He hesitantly backs away, how was he going to communicate with her? Since he has been nearly killed by her a couple times, he thinks he shouldn't introduce himself directly; being near her was tense enough.

"What should I do?"

He taps his fingers together, looking around as if an answer was lying around somewhere on the ground, which turns out to be. He spots something in the trash pile nearby, a toilet rim and mop together. "Hmm" He looks at them thoughtfully and back at the woman. They kind of look like her in a way, the mop's white strains like her hair and the rim like her head.

"Aha!" He has an idea. Wally begins riffling through trash, searching for whatever else he finds; Hal just lays down on the ground nearby, watching his master pull out his tools, getting to work on his first real attempt to communicate with Eve. As Hal eventually dozes off, Wally works through the night.

* * *

Come morning, Eve wakes up; she seemed to have a peaceful rest. The pod opens up automatically as soon she was conscious. She gets out of the pod; it shrinking into pocket size, already to continue her mission, but...

"Huh?"

She stopped at the site of something before her. Some contraption resembling a work of art; a statue made of scrap metal, the arms and legs made of welded tubing, and spray painted white. There's a rim with a mop on top of it as a head with two Christmas tree decoration balls dangling in the center, blue like her eyes. She realized it was a poor rendition of herself. She is bewildered of how this 'thing' got here and what it even was suppose to be anyway.

"Weird" she said to no one in particular as she takes in the image of the thing. Still confused, she shrugs it off as she walks past it and to her job.

Wally's heart sunk as he watched his masterpiece get rejected by her, while hiding behind a rack of pipelines.

He slaved over that thing to get it done before she awoke, and to do it right. All she seemed to show was she wasn't impressed with it, and he spent all night in the dark until mere minutes before she woke, for nothing. He cursed himself for not doing a better job, how could he? He never wasn't much of an artist himself, and had limited materials and time. But she still didn't acknowledge him in anyway, and sitting here wasn't going to do him any good.

"Dammit" he silently cursed, slightly kicking the pipes dejectedly, only to add to the day's bad start when the pipes come rolling down on top of him, screeching in surprise and pain as a pile of 100-pound steel pipes pinned him down. Now his art was worthless, pinned by pipes too heavy to get out from, and…That's twice he made a fool of himself in front of her.

* * *

**Story flow seem familiar? Next chapter, some Wally to Eve interaction...**


	8. Chapter 8: Courting

**Yay! Day off from school and work, and character-to-character interaction, nice and lenghtly reading! enjoy! Btw happy Veteran's Day**

* * *

CHAPTER 8. COURTING

_Identified: Specimen Negative. _

Eve has heard those responses before from her holopad. Usually, when she was sent on the yearly reconnaissance missions to various terrestrial planets to find any traces of life forms, from microbiological specimens to full sized plants; to varify if the planet is capable of sustaining complex life. But hasn't found ONE on _any_ mission she was sent.

In her mind, she was basically sent on some getaways to new worlds, for simple joy flights to get the feel of 'freedom' that she imagined from this kind of work on top of making glorifying discoveries of life on alien worlds, all she had to do was to have fun and look. But the ease of searching for life for glory was just a empty promise to this job, having to search countless worlds across astronomical distances for just even a tiny trace of life wasn't easy. Nothing was easy for something only a certain few of priviledged humans were allowed to do outside of their own generation ships; Eve thought she could become famous to her people by just bringing back a microbe of a specimen, and she could goof off if she wanted to. But she found no life, _at all, _throughout her line of work. Her drive for fame to become the first person to find a habitable world full of lush, green life was waned out by mission after mission with the same _A1-01_ directive and the same result: no plants and nothing to do but fly around. After a week of searching here on Earth of all places, it was getting on her nerves; her task now felt more like a 'down to earth' task as she calls it.

Eve shakes her head as she closes the hood to a rusted pick up truck she just scanned. She continued her search to enclosed spaces where living things are likely to, hiding from the harsh extremes in this environment. She tries not to react when she surprisingly gets another reading from inside a toilet booth.

_Identified: Specimen Negative_

At least they would have some microbiological development that would be enough to satisfy her scanner's evaluation relay and to end her silly searching so she could go back home to the _Axiom_; but she guessed wrong. She groans in frustration as she closes the door to the port-a-potty, contemplating her thoughts.

Home didn't feel like free either. She would usually return weeks later after traveling in cryosleep, debrief useless information, and then she'd end up spending all year training for the next mission in a cramped starship, it was all feeling dull and routine. After a while, she hated traveling onboard the Axiom Reconaissance Vehicle in hibernation, cryogenic sleep felt very uncomfortable to her, having to freeze and unfreeze hurt her skin and was worried it would mess up her pretty features. She always got confused too, having to wake up weeks later as if nothing happened; and it interupted her aging process, though she was only 22 years old, she was younger technically by at least a couple years as she was frozen for weeks at a time on several missions, slowing her age and prolonging her lifetime. Getting to and back from missions was only the worst part of a boring job. Now that this directive was something no one else wanted to do since no habitable planet was ever discovered, but had to keep searching nonetheless; she herself and not a group of scouts would be sent to scout a planet surface once every 5 years instead of once a year, and they chose Earth, the least expectant of all impossibilities. The home planet long abandoned by her people for almost 700 years since the _Axiom_ and the BnL starships left with the population of humanity.

So why search an already dead planet? Eve thought to herself as she got antagonized in her search of her next scanning. Even though she's never seen Earth, she didn't think she would. Ever since she was born and raised on the _Axiom_; she always dreamed of escaping the cabin feverish walls of the ship, having grown sick and tired of doing the same 'activities' as everyone else onboard that ship. She grew up, schooled, and trained with her mind set onto the promises of the timeless horizons of space, looking for infinite worlds and skies to fly through, the ultimate freedom. Earth was so dead and pointless; and due to the fact that she could only go where she was told, it made her think that there isn't much freedom in anything. Her prolonged life felt like it was to be trapped in routine, no matter where she went.

Her thoughts were interrupted by yet another _Identified: Specimen Negative_, Eve was scanning the inside of a BnL replica of the Apollo capsule. As soon as she heard that negative chime, she slammed the hatch shut, failing to not react angrily.

_Identified: Specimen Negative_

All through the day she got angrier and angrier by the minute at that sound after hundreds of readings. She just finished what she just thought would have had productive results was in the cargo hold of an ancient BnL cargo ship in the late afternoon.

_Identified: Specimen Negative! _

_"_Aaaagh!"

Eve slammed the cargo doors with all her might, screaming in frustration as she threw her holopad over the railing and down to the dried up bedrock. Her actions only fueled the fire, she stomped away off the ship to go find her holopad and just call it a day, not noticing a metallic grating sound from behind her.

Before Eve could register a tugging sensation on her, she was yanked off her feet and pulled back into a large circular magnetic disk, attached to a cargo crane. Her torso, arms and legs were immobilized by the powerful magnetic field.

"What The Hell?" she exclaims at what just happened.

It hit her that her suit was magnetized. It was made of nanofabricated ceramic gossamer, made for skintight sporty girl looks and as protective suits in the harsh environments of any extraterrestrial landscape; it was thin, comfortably smooth, and its own form of clothing almost indistinguishable from Egyptian cotton; it was still metallic regardless of its characteristic structure.

She tries to budge, but to no avail, still infuriated, she fidgets violently and flings around trying to brake free. She activates her antigravity servos, trying to fly away, maybe swing with enough momentum to brake free. She almost makes it, but the magnet is far too strong, what idiot ever put this magnetic crane up for lifting cargo but unable to take it off? she thinks, cursing all sorts of things in her mind.

After a few minutes of trying, Eve has finally lost whatever patience she had left. She wrestles her hand for the plasma rifle strapped to her leg. She struggles as she pries it out of its harness, as it is also metallic. But she has the barrel aimed at the magnet, set to low power so she doesn't blow herself up. She closes her eyes and pulls the trigger.

The bolt of plasma melts through the magnet, releasing her as she stops from falling with her antigravity boots.

Finally free to release all her rage and anger from the day of not finding what she's looking for on the ship. She unloads discharge after discharge of ionized gas projectiles, screaming and cursing at the freighter; blasting at full power at the hull, superstructure, and especially the crane, twice for good measure. One shot hits the petroleum fuel tanks, instantly the ship lights up in a ball of fire, as she continues firing at the disintegrated ship in a blind rage.

The raining fireball's debris and her stray plasma bolts causes nearby ships to explode as well. Eve's anger is lighting up the dead valley like Hiroshima.

...

Wally watches in terror and awe at the site of the pretty woman turned explosive on those ships, all while trying to avoid flying flaming debris from his cover at a safe distance from the ship, and _from her_ in this state. In the week she has been here, he tried to get as close as he can to her, but hadn't recovered his confidence to get her attention after he built that statue for her; and it took him a while to pry himself free from those pipes, he didn't want to go through that again. Seeing the woman full-blown enraged made him scared to even consider going over to her.

She has finally stopped shooting, now she's back on the ground. Her beautiful face that showed murderous rage now blank from hopelessness. She is so lost in thought she doesn't notice the ships she blew up tilting over each other, creating a fiery domino effect. She's slumped over in defeat, with her head in her hands. Wally notices she is clenching her fists, hiding her face in her hair and arms, closed up at not finding a single specimen in an entire sector; saddened beyond measure.

Concerned, he feels something tug inside himself. He loved her gracious self, but he couldn't stand to see her so depressed; he wanted to go over to her and comfort her however way he could. But disturbing her would most likely worsen her god-awful mood and he would risk getting incinerated by her own fury.

It wasn't until then when Wally notices a shining blue screen along with the burning debris in front of him. When he picks it up, he recognizes it as the woman's holopad. He saw her throw it almost in his direction of his hiding spot.

"Hmm" Wally looks between the holopad in his and to the woman; he gets an idea, one that might actually work. He could return this to her and maybe she will at least thank him, maybe get an opportunity to talk to her. He would do anything for this girl to say at least a few words to him; he's never even met a girl before. He looks back at the woman and back to the holopad in his hand. He made his decision, he will run the risk of her killing him, but at least he would try to get close to her.

_It's now or forever be a coward, _he thinks as he composes himself with all his 'courage', and slowly makes his way over to her side, but not without feeling a bit of nervousness in his gut.

...

Eve sat there unresponsively, her face buried in her hands, exhausted from spending her anger and energy on the defenseless ship. Her eyes threatened to water, Eve thought for a moment if she could have just put her energy into flying away, feeling free from directives and frustrating as hell readouts; but having already vented her willpower to even move, there wasn't much she could do to ease her pain. She felt for the first time true hatred for her job, cursing the planets she ever visited to having no life, and cursed her superiors for selecting her for this meaningless safari. She just wanted to shutoff from reality then and there, she won't respond to anything, she just wanted to go home and away from this hellhole; she wouldn't look forward to returning home either, she wished she could fly away from this life, if she could...

Slow, careful footsteps to her left caught her attention. Her sonic detection automatically registered it as the annoying garbage man that kept following her around. She wanted to just blast the irritating little weirdo on the spot, her plasma rifle lie next her, it's barrel was still glowing red hot from firing continuously, it's ion power cell was fully drained and in need to recharge.

But...somehow, even if it was fully charged, she wouldn't have had the will to bring herself to kill someone who she didn't know or didn't even do anything wrong and just wanted someone else to suffer.

She heard another noise; the garbage collector was sitting no more than ten feet away from her. He slowly shifted closer to her; he looked very nervous, tapping and fidgeting with his fingers as he whistled out of tune for no reason. Eve didn't bother with him, he seemed rather harmless to her.

Eve then thought about the man next to her. There was something about him, the way he kept following her and popping into her thoughts. She had nearly killed him the first time they meet, she over-defensively presumed he was hostile, but his innocent looks and curiosity was the only thing present in his eyes. She remembers those eyes; the way he looked at her, he looked like a very lonely man, trailing her like a lost puppy. She also knew nothing could survive here as far as she could tell, she was told that all of the Buy N' Large cleanup settlements left on Earth died out long ago; in the 695 years of reconnaissance, the scouts sent from the _Axiom_ starliner never found a single survivor anywhere. But how is it possible for this living, breathing worker to be here on Earth? Could he be the sole survivor of the long lost government of this planet?

Maybe he knows; even better, maybe he knows where to find what she's looking for, he was the only thing in her search of Sector _NA-001_ she hasn't bothered with yet. She thought of even more questions like who was he? Where did he come from? Why is he here? How did he survive this world? Her blossoming curiosity about him snapped her out of her gloomy state.

He was now only four feet away, sitting awkwardly, its apparent to her that he wants to speak. Finally! She can do something useful on this meaningless mission, and satisfy her inquisitive mind.

...

"Y_ou can do this"_ Wally repeats to himself, trying to overcome the growing nervousness in his stomach.

He was just over a meter away from her, she probably knows he's there and hasn't had the ability to kill him for the time being. He is neither relieved nor panicked, he is still sitting next to her in awkward silence, and the only sounds are the cracklings of fire from the burning hulks of the ships in front of them. He collected his composure, clearing his throat, ready to speak. He forgot what he was going to say, but he's going to say at least _something_ to her.

"So what's your story?" The woman said, turning her head to face him.

"Ah!"He jumped at the sound of her speaking to him and looking at him so suddenly, he fell over on his back in surprise and closed his eyes preparing to be blown away.

The woman calmly tried to reach out to Wally. "It's alright, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

Wally wasn't expecting that to happen, he realizes he was on his back and he was not dead. Wally sat up from the ground slowly, and found himself in direct eye contact with the woman for the first time since she arrived. Only this time, wasn't starring down the barrel of a plasma gun, nor into the eyes of a trained killer. He was looking at a sincere woman with no intention to harm him at all. She was looking at him awaiting an answer, her crystal clear blue eyes continued to stun him.

"You're very jittery aren't you?" Her voice is soothing, and friendly, for she seemed amused by his anxiety at the slightest of her actions. It finally hits him,_ "She's talking to me!" _

"Directive?" she asks.

Still nervous, he tries to say something. "uuuh...Huh?" was his only intelligible response.

"You're a garbage collector, yes?" she asks him again with her sweet voice.

"Oh!" he realizes what she was saying. "Um…uh…y-yes, yes I-I am." He stutters, but he was not as nervous about her.

Eve almost let herself have a girlish giggle at the sound of his voice, it was a bit high-pitched for someone like him, yet it was distinguishable enough to indicate that he was an adult with the roughness of his voice, like his throat was wheezy and riddled with years of inhalation of dust.

He notices a pile of trash nearby a compactor. For a moment he stared at it and realized that maybe he could impress her.

He eagerly whips out his shovel and proudly scoops it all into a broken compactor nearby as swiftly as he could. The compactor grinds painfully as the rusted away gears try to compress the trash. Finally it spits out a cube, only for it to fall apart.

"Uuh….Tadda!" he nervously triumphs over the sloppy cube.

"Oh" she looks at the fallen apart cube in mild amazement as if she never saw the act of compacting garbage before.

Wally tries to speak first, know that the ice is broken, kind of.

"Um…so…w-what's your d-d-..dir…ec…tive?" he asks shyly, trying to sort out what English he still remembers.

"My directive?" the woman points to herself at his question, he nods.

"That's classified" she says coldly while looking away, neither short nor cutting in her answer.

"Oh…sorry" he replies in defeat, mentally cursing himself at asking that question.

Suddenly he remembers the holopad she threw away. So he quickly pulls it out of his pocket and hands it to her.

"Um…you uh, I-I believe t-this is yours."

She looks at her holopad in his hand. She remembered she chucked it over the railing because it drove her to madness, destroying a boat for not finding what she was after. She hates having to do that again or be reminded of it, but he didn't know better. She takes it from his gloved hand, and examines it, it wasn't damaged, and it's built tough anyway for a 'frustrating' job. At least she won't have to go look for it or replace it.

"Oh, thank you, um-uh, what's your name?" she asks him.

"Huh?" He looks at her, confused, "My name?" he repeats.

"Yes" as she looks at him for an answer.

He's never said his given name for as long as he could remember, speaking to anything or anyone in particular who asked of it. He remembered it, it's even written on his uniform for that matter, but hasn't said it for almost…forever; it's hard for him to say it.

"Uuuh…uhh" It's _really_ hard for him to say it. "W…Wa" he takes his time "Wa…Wa-Wally!" he finally manages to speak it.

"Wally?" the woman repeats it perfectly, with her harmonious voice.

The way her voice is, the way she spoke his name. Wally's heart felt so warm, he cues at the beautiful sound that rolls off her tongue as she says it again.

"Wally", she giggles lightly, "That's a nice name" she says at him, smiling. He gazes lovingly at her.

"My name is Eve" she says, pointing to her name patched on her arm, under a single gold bar for the rank of 2nd lieutenant and a green plant patch with BnL Navy - _Axiom_ _E.V.R.E._ embedded in it. (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Reconnaissance & Evaluation)

Her name is the most wonderful word Wally has ever heard. He tries to pronounce it, but he isn't very good with phonetics either.

"Eeeeee?" he repeats as best he could.

"No, Eve"

He tries again "Eeeaah" he fails again.

She says her name slower "No it's like this: Eeeeevveee."

Now Wally was putting all his efforts into pronouncing it right, only to worsen his speech impediment.

"Eeeeevvvvvaaaahhh"

That slow stuttering sound made Eve giggle uncontrollably, he's trying so hard to get it right and his pronouncing of her name with an A sounded too cute. It made him look so adorable!

Wally is entranced at the sound of her laugh, with her voice it was like music to his ears; he loved making her laugh so he says her name again, this time with his voice's volume and tone in line with hers to sound as normal as possible.

"Evah!" still with a high voice.

Now she's laughing out loud, holding her stomach so she doesn't fall over. His childish voice ranged from a whisper to almost yelling, like he couldn't pick a tone; though it was from spending years of not speaking in a dead and silent environment to make vocal tone difficult, yet it didn't matter to either of them.

She collects herself after a few seconds. "You're funny; it's Eve, but that sounds good to me." she says with a smile on her face, making him more drawn to her, now he's up close, personal, and on friendly ground with the first human being he has spoken to in known memory.

It's getting cold, the wind begins to pick, its growing howling sounds drawing Wally's attention away from Eve. The sand at their feat blowing with the wind, he recognizes that sound. The winds are blowing from behind Eve, he looks past her and sure enough, a column of dust and sand headed their way, and fast; a sandstorm.

"Oh no" he says half-panicking, his truck was about a kilometer away, and judging from the wind's speed and distance of the wall of sand, they had less than a minute before it hits.

"Evah! We need to go!" alerted, he moves to grab her and run.

"Whoa, don't touch me!" Eve warns him, drawing her plasma rifle on him; Wally stops dead in his tracks, but she doesn't know what's happening.

"Evah look! There's a storm coming!"

Before she could turn around, the winds hit full force; Eve is dumbstruck by what just happened. The sand now picking up and obscuring her vision; even her HUD is unable to shield her face. The gale force winds have even extinguished the fires of the burning ships. Eve is now totally disoriented in the blast of air and dirt all around her, difficult to not get blown over. Suddenly she remembers Wally standing near her, only to disappear in the cloud of dust as the storm hit.

"WALLY! WALLY! WHERE ARE YOU?" She calls out to him, no response. It's so loud and visibility is zero. She panics, she can't find any shelter, and the only person who knows what to do is gone, she won't survive in this for long.

Suddenly she feels safe, as a rough, gloved hand grasps her own for dear life; she can't see him, but she knows he's there.

"EVAH!" Wally screams to her over the blasting winds, he's still there, and she's going to live. His silhouette form appears in the cloud of dust as a shadow.

"DON'T LET GO! FOLLOW ME!" Wally calls out to her, as he puts on his UV goggles, guiding him and her to the only place she could be safe.

* * *

**So wutchya think? Chapters will get longer later on with more dialogue. I have tomorrow off so i will try to post chapter 9 and draft up a few more if i can. And thats AFTER i get a few hours of sleeping in first!**


	9. Chapter 9: Wally's Favorite Things

**Alas, more dialogue and lenght! And i still don't own any of the rights!**

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CHAPTER 9. WALLY'S FAVORITE THINGS

The dead silence of the truck's dark interior is shattered by the sudden rush of sand and wind blasting inside. The door opens as fast as it could.

"IN HERE!"

Wally leads Eve inside, shielding her with his body. It was difficult to even find the truck, but thankfully Wally remembered his bearings before the storm hit. But walking in 150 Kilometer-per-hour winds was as slow as a crawl, any further than a kilometer away, they'd be dead and buried for sure.

The door closes, and all is calm again; they are safe. The settling dust causes Eve to sneeze and cough up sand in her mouth, it really gets everywhere.

"Are you alright?" Wally asks worryingly, though he was use to the harsh air, she wasn't.

"Yea-" A sneeze escape from Eve before she recollects herself.

"…yes, thank you." she manages to say, but a little shaken for almost being totally lost and dying out there, if not for him.

She notices it's still dark inside the truck. "Where are we?" she asks, but she can't see Wally.

"Hold on, let me get some light." He scuffles through the darks, but manages to reach the stack of batteries to the Christmas lights. He clamps in the cables and the truck flickers to life with every color of light.

Eve is amazed at the site, the most stuffed space of random ancient objects she's ever seen. Racks upon racks of unique appliances, tools, toys, items, oddities, knickknacks, anything; the Christmas lights gave the interior of the stuffed truck a glow of invitation and enchantment. She slowly glides down the aisle of the truck, completely awestruck, already over the shakes.

"What is this place?" she asks quietly, still looking around in awe.

"This is my home" he proudly says as he spreads his arms out to give a welcoming pose.

Eve notices Wally's make shift appliances that appeared tobe a room, a sheet tied to metal poles resembling a hammock, the broken down television still playing, a mountain of ancient lead-acid batteries that powered the lights, and Hal's sleeping pad.

She takes in the entire image of the trucks interior. Only six feet wide and thirty of this fourty foot truck was packed with everything he found, and only the 6ft by 10ft enclosing that resembled a room was where he essentually called it his 'home'. Where he slept, where he ate, and where he sheltered himself.

"Is this, your…living quarters?" Eve asks him, carefully choosing her words to clarify if this is what she actually thought it was.

"Yes." Wally says matter-of-factly.

She looks at him for a second, wondering how could a person live in such a humble place and survive the hostile conditions of Earth.

Compared to the living standards of her home on the _Axiom_: a nice and sterile executive home reserved for high-ranking starship personnel like her and the E.V.R.E. scouts, her residence was four times bigger than this truck, with lots of comfy and stylish furniture, a kitchen with exquisite food-producing replicative oven or refridgerator, state-of-the-art interactive entertainment systems of her tastes, a sterile hygeine room with a shower and lavatory, and a soft shape-shifting mattress to sleep in; this 'home' of Wally's was nothing. It was utterly nothing.

She changes the subject, trying not to think of how low and poor his life is; instead, she decides to quell her curiosity of the truck's treasures. "So...where did you get all of these things?"

"I found all of these in the garbage, and collected them". The way he displays the forgotten treasures of humanity, seems like it's the whole world in here.

"It's incredible" she says, scrutinizing every one of them; but jumps at the sound of what appears to be a singing fish on the wall.

"WHOA!" She draws her gun as if to shoot it.

Wally rushes to her alerted, he doesn't want any of his treasures destroyed.

"Evah, Evah, it's alright, it's just a fish."

But she isn't listening; now the singing fish is also moving! Its tail and head flapping side to side, she takes aim.

"Ah! Evah! No, no, no. Its ok, it's ok. It's not going to hurt you." He calmly reassures her, trying to get her to lower her weapon. She looks at him and backs the fish in unease, but gives in as she holsters her plasma rifle.

"Oh, good" Wally sighs in relief, and then he's all jittery and excited.

"There's so much I want to show you!" he says with a smile on his face, riffling through the racks to find interesting things to share.

"Here" he shows her an eggbeater, but since this technology is hundreds of years old, neither of them have a clue what it is.

Eve takes it as Wally returns to searching for more things; she gets very curious with the eggbeater, twisting its knob faster, faster, faster, fast—the beaters fly off, she was revving it too fast. She gasps sharply as one of his treasures came apart.

Wally heard the clanking sounds of it "What was that?"

"Um, uh, nothing. Nothing at all." she quickly denies, hiding the eggbeater.

Wally finds a sheet of bubble wrap. "Lookie here!" he pops one of the bubbles, she is taken aback, it looked fun and addicting.

"You try" he happily offers it to her; she takes it and sure enough likes it when she popped it, she giggled as she popped all the bubbles as fast as she could.

Wally next hands her a light bulb, she takes and as soon as it touched her fingers, it shone brightly.

"What the?" Wally takes the light from her, tapping it as if it were broken. He gives it back to Eve, maybe he was seeing things, but nope, it lit up again.

"How'd you do that?" he asks amazed that she could bring light to anything dead.

" I don't know" she replies, she too is drawn to the light; apparently her suit's nanocurcuitry could transfer energy to anything electrical it touches.

Wally shrugs it off as he finds an unsolved Rubik's cube; she takes it with utmost curiosity.

"Aha, I know!" he says, he knows something to really interest her.

Ecstatic, he rushes over to the VCR, pulling out _Hello Dolly_ and rushes back to Eve, who has finished solving the Rubik's cube in the few seconds he took to get the movie.

"Oh" he utters in amazement, she's smart and she's fast. He looks at the cube, unconsciously handing Eve the tape, he just stares at the cube; he didn't even know what it was for.

"Oops", Eve's words brought Wally's attention back to her. He saw Eve's worried expression looking at the unspooled contents from a cassette in her hands.

"Ah! My Tape!" he panics, grabbing it from her, trying to think of how to fix it.

"Oh my, I-I'm so sorry!" Eve tries to apologize; worried she did something very wrong. Quickly and clumsily, Wally's mechanical arm exposes a kind of flathead power tool that rewinds the tape, but he is still worried, does it still work? He whips around and slides it into the VCR, turning on the TV. The static made him feel uneasy for his most prized possession.

Finally the screen flickers on, the picture displays and sound activates; Wally cheers in relief to the tunes being played, the scene of the actors dancing to _Put On Your Sunday Clothes_.

Eve stands next to Wally, relieved that the problem she made was solved. She stares at the TV and to him.

"So, what do you think?" Wally asks, gesturing to the projected scene.

"It's looks fascinating" she watches the scene and listens to the movie with great interest; She records the scenes of the actors dancing with her tiny camcorder, mounted on her earpiece.

"Very fascinating" she says to herself as she steps closer, examining the movie like a scientist examining a specimen.

"Oh I know!" Wally jumps in excitement as he reaches the back of his truck, searching for something he found earlier, the metal lid. He finds it as he left it and turns to Eve.

"Evah, look!"

She is greeted to an adorable site of him dancing and humming along with the tunes, with a trash lid as a hat, how appropriate.

_"...Put on your Sunday clothes there's lots of world out there…!"_

He dances poorly, as if for the first time. But Eve can't contain herself as she giggles loudly; he's just too cute for her when he does that.

"Now you try" he politely asks, spinning to a stop from his last move.

Eve is baffled, she's never danced before either, except for in the sky, but she tries anyway. "Okay" thinking it to be challenging, she uses her enhanced abilities for her movements.

Too much speed and too much strength. Wally tries to stay calm and polite, stepping back from her frantic dancing form. She mimics his last dance move, spinning like a helicopter. "Okay stop, stop! STO-" She strikes him, in the face, and sends him flying into the metal wall.

Eve stops gracefully, not fazed or dizzy at all. But notices Wally isn't present, how can he disappear in a truck?

"Wally?" she asks in confusion.

But she needed only to look on the ground and against the wall. Wally was groaning from being struck with so much force, like being hit by a car, and putting a sizable dent in the aluminum wall.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!" Eve gasps, "I got carried away, are you okay?"

He seemed unharmed, but his glasses are completely shattered, and he sustained a black eye. Concerned, Eve tries to help him up. "I can fix that for you. "

"Oh no, no, no, no, I-I am okay; I have spares" He says, getting up, but trips over some of his stuff on the floor. He's really nearsighted without his glasses.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Eve asks him, Wally was feeling the shelves, but kept tripping and bumping his head into things.

"Oh yes I am okay, I know wher-" (CLANK) "OW!" he hits his head against the top shelf, but manages to finish his sentence. "I know where to find my glasses." He finds his way to his 'room' where he gets to the shelf with his personal items, new glasses, replacement prosthesis, pacemaker batteries, etc.

"Aha! Problem solved." triumph that he has on a new pair.

"Oh, good" Eve is relieved that she didn't seriously injured him. Wally was taken aback that Eve is now more caring to him. She focuses her eyes around to find something new.

Eve finds Wally's lighter collection, something new to her indeed. She picks one up, carefully studying its appearance, wasn't it used for something?

"I have no idea what those are." Wally said as Eve sat down not too far from him; "I just collected all of the ones I could find though."

She pulls on one side, it clicks open. Curiously, she presses a button, it still works. The lighter sparks, and Wally and Eve are captivated by a tiny little flame that appears.

As they stare into the flame, Wally could feel the warmth emitting from Eve's skin. He realizes that this is the closest he has been to her. He looks at her, still oblivious to their intimate position, staring at the flame.

Wally took in the image of Eve, the light emitting from the Christmas lights and from the tiny flame glowing on her pure white figure; but saw the warmer glow of her beautiful face, his infatuation for her grew. He tilted his head to one side, his mind lost in the magnificence of her vivid blue eyes, staring into them as if into her soul; it was so beautiful it almost hurt to look. He hears familiar tunes playing in the background, the soft ballad of _It Only Takes A Moment_ made it felt like he was starring at the night sky that day before she arrived, its timeless dark blue horizon twinkled of constellations so mystifying and captivating, that beheld the most mysterious things of life that were beyond mortal grasp. It felt like Eve was a godsend from the stars, his silent prayer for finding love was now right in front of him.

He remembered the song that played in the background, the man and woman kissing and holding hands, proclaiming their love for one another only took a moment to fall into, Wally finally understood what the lyrics meant, and he knew what to do.

His eyes lowered, down from her eyes, down her arm, to her fingerless gloved left hand. It laid limb on the sheet they were sitting on, mere centimeters from his prosthetic right hand. Wally gulped; it seemed so simple in the movie to just hold the woman's hand, telling her everything you wanted to tell.

_But what if she rejects me? Or worse decides to shoot me?_ It was easier said than done. He was now sweating, trying to build up the courage within himself to make his move. They we're still in awkward silence, but Eve is still distracted by the flame; all things considered, the intimate situation and setting, he decides to take her hand then and there.

He slowly raises his right hand, even though it was mechanical, the timid shakiness was running throughout Wally's entire body. It made faint clattering sounds as his prosthetic's neural processor registered spiking stimulus patterns of stress in his brain, enacting the proper effects of anxiety like the shakes. He mentally cursed his replacement arm for having such a give away to his shyness, it wasn't that far to her hand, but mere centimeters felt like kilometers.

He opens his fingers, "_ok, that's a good first step"_; now, he reaches down…slowly.

With his eyes closed, preparing for the worst; if he is rejected and she decides to blast him to bit on the spot.

Then he was hoping for the best that she somehow loves him back; he pictures in his mind of them being locked in a passionate embrace, singing to the orchestra of _IOTAM_ and the happiest of endings, his dream come true. The thought finally brings out the bravery in him to touch the skin of her fingers…

Eve turns her head to Wally, eyeing him questioningly and suspiciously when she sees him reach for her hand with his eyes closed for some reason.

"What are you doing?"

He pulls his hand back in reflex, half-choking/yelping, thinking he was caught or he touched her hand and was about to die.

"Ah! Oh um-uuuuh, uuh, n-n-n-nothing, noth-thing at all! Yeah that's it! I not doing nothing at all!" he denies half stuttering out of impulse and fear, his confidence and fantasies shattered into a trillion pieces. He's sheepishly fidgeting as if trying to convince her he was doing something akin to nothing.

Eve just looks at him like he's the most bizarre creature she's ever seen, and sadly she has no idea what Wally was trying to relay to her.

"Uuuh Oooo-kay" she says to him in unease, wondering what was he up to.

"Oooh!" Eve is drawn to the TV as _IOTAM_ was playing, preventing her from pondering about Wally's strange behavior.

Wally was mental kicking himself for cowering from his only chance to intimately connect to Eve. He noticed Eve was very interested in the movie as well. He sat there in thought; trying to come up with something to reel her to him. She was interested in the things that he showed her, so what hasn't he shown her yet? He's shown here pretty much everything of his life on Earth in just minutes, there wasn't much to look at. Nothing too lively.

"_Wait, lively! THAT'S IT! THE PLANT!"_ He suddenly remembers of the garden plant he found earlier, the only thing she hasn't seen, and its something he's never seen before either.

"Evah! I just remembered!" drawing her attention from scanning the scene on the TV.

"I found something a few days ago and I want to show you!"

He rushes over to the shelves, but since the whole truck had something in every one of the hundreds of shelves, he can't remember exactly where it was.

"Uh, one second" He says as he continues to frantically search through the shelves. He's causing such a racket that a drum came down on his head, "Ow!" looking up in the direction of where the drum fell, he fumbles back on the drum as he loses his balance.

Eve is giggling silently at him as he goofily searches around his home. He is, indeed, adorably funny in her eyes; very cute even. Especially for someone like him who survived here. She looks at the lighter in her hand, and back at the closing scene of _IOTAM_.

She now thinks of how someone like him could see something so special in the things her people once greedily took for granted or as if it were a dumb invention. To Wally, he saw things far more than they were, in all his treasures and his home. To her this was a place he just existed rather than lived. But she thought that compared to the bleak, and empty apartments of onboard her home ship, her life of just existing wasn't that different from him.

Except Wally had to fight for his survival on a daily basis, while she was indifferently and effortlessly living in a very comfortable enclosed space aboard a safe and sound ship. Her life didn't seem so bad compared to Wally's; but strangely, he didn't have any problem about it that she could see, for he beheld some form of amazement into the things he saw, newer discoveries that he came across that were very beautiful to him, including herself.

There was something about Wally that made her more curious about, more drawn to him. She was wondering if the things she felt were of: what, attraction? How? He is so far below her in status, not to mention he wasn't much of an attractive male in physical appearance according to female terms.

She is a naval vegetation scout for the _Buy N' Large_ starliner fleet, and he is just a custodian for a government that no longer exists. How could such unlikely person(s) create such a connection among them?

She lit the lighter again, the tiny flame flickering to life again.

The tiny flame reminded her of the things she remembered as beautiful. The warmth of being loved or loving someone, like the way her parents cared for her when she was young; the way her mother and father cared for each other; and then she remembered the beauty of the stars as seen from the _Axiom_.

She loved them as much as see loved to fly, the greatest things that bring her warmth, but she didn't know why; it wasn't just for the sense of freedom, for freedom is a perspective, what she loved is it's just cause, because she wanted to. She compared it to a possibility she though of if she and him were somehow connected, could they be attracted if they wanted to? She thought.

Maybe there was more to it than just social or status common ground. The way he looked at her, at the times she caught him staring at her like the greatest thing ever. How couldn't he? He most likely spent his whole life here, and it may have been because of the way he lived that made him see what others couldn't.

_"Maybe, he sees something in me that no one else could. But what exactly?" _

Wally tapped her shoulder, breaking her train of thought.

She turns around to see him stand before her holding an old shoe, but there was something green inside the shoe that got her attention.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with great interest. She looks at the green object in scrutiny. _"Wait a minute!"_ her practiced eyes realize the familiar green looking object.

She pulls out her holopad and scans the object. Three pings and then, a pause as it processed what it was looking at.

…

_Identified: Specimen POSITIVE - Ailanthus altissima sprout - Biologically functioning_

It pinged with a confirming sound. Eve's eyes shot wide open. Her mind can't even process what she is looking at, a real photosynthesizing plant!

_Specimen Confirmed Positive, Directive A1-01: Recon & Evaluate Positive Biological Lifeforms - Accomplished, Initiate - Directive A1-02: Return To Axiom Superior!_

And at that moment, her mind truly couldn't process; because it was taken over by an automated program. Her neural implants took over her mind and body.

She starts to have a violent convulsion, an inhuman automated sound coming from Eve. Wally is caught by surprise and fear, he steps back scared as if she's going to blow up, in his mind he is scared beyond measure for her.

_"WHAT DID I DO?"_ He panics in his mind, but now his feat is locked in fear of what's going to happen next.

It all happened instantly. The plant was yanked out of his hands by a brainwashed Eve and places it in a special biospecimen container strapped to her belt. She then yanks out her downsized cryopod cylinder. It automatically sizes up around her in the event these things happen; she is suddenly encased in cryogeneric ice. The cryopod's seams seal shut with a solid click, never to open for anything or anyone. It drops to the ground with a thud.

Only a steady pulsating green light emits from the pod, with a plant leaf over it.

"Whoa" Was Wally's only reaction to what just happened.

He steps over to the pod, and sees Eve inside, now in suspended animation; she is frozen in her blank, catatonic pose, her eyes closed and her hand clutching the plant container for dear life. She looked clinically dead in the pod, just like when she first came here.

"Evah?"

He taps the pod as if to somehow get her attention. No response. He leans against the pod as if hear for any signs of activity within it. Nothing, just the pulsating green light.

"Evah?" He panics, shaking the pod to awaken her. Nothing happens.

"E-E-EVAH!" His cries for her echo through the truck, through the storm and through the night as he tries to get a response, she was now just frozen and unresponsive.

**Took me 3 hours to edit this thing, a lot longer than i thought if it was already drafted. Chpt 10 will be up ASAP. Feel free to review, and yes i can take critizism, but not too negative alrighty? Alrighty.**


	10. Chapter 10: Rain Drops Keep Fallin'

**Got to get this off my comp. files an into the web before my computer crashes. And i don't own Wall-E's rights.**

**TRIVIA! about the title of this chapter, its the name of the song by B.J. Thomas and it was the song that Andrew Stanton wanted to be the track for the chapter of Wall-E taking care of EVE. Thomas Newman instead wanted to make something more original instead.**

* * *

CHAPTER 10. RAIN DROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD

Come morning, twilight creeps over the eastern horizon; the sandstorm has calmed down overnight, but Wally hasn't. Since Eve put herself into hibernation, he was wide awake and worried sick; thinking she was hurt or he did something wrong, making her shut herself off from him. Since then he had been wide awake, trying to wake her up, but to no avail. Due to the fact she was cryogenerically frozen in place, and technically she's clinically dead, unresponsive to Wally's cries for her. But he still tries, not willing to give up on his only friend.

He sat there and stared at her pod in the truck for hours after countless attempts of pounding on it to awake her. He kept thinking of how to get her out, to bring her out of the freezing shell and back to life. But how? He did not know…"Aha!" He shall try to unfreeze her!

With the sun now above the horizon, Wally has moved, or better yet, labored Eve's cryotube outside, to where he would get his pacemaker recharged at the same time. Her pod was, not bulky, but very heavy; around 350 lbs because the density of the great cyrogeneric residual ice inside the pod combined with the density of Eve's frozen solid body. It took him an hour or two of pushing against the pod, out of the truck, down the ramp, and into the sunlight. Manual laboring didn't help Wally take his mind off of Eve, but he at least got her in the sun's warm rays in the expectation for her to awake.

Now all he could do was wait, and see if the sun could melt through the pods -100̊ C chasis. So he stood by her side on the bridge, staring at the frozen figure of Eve, waiting for the ice to thaw out and let her go, so he could see her warm open eyes and hear her voice again.

He lets those happy results run through his head as he waits patiently….

…And waits… …and waits… …and waits…

* * *

Midday.

By now the sun's heat is beating down on the surface as hot as it will irradiate. It's almost unbearable, even for Wally. Though he grew up here, it's the hottest summer on Earth he's ever experienced. He sat down on the sizzling concrete of the broken bridge. His worksuit and skin is soaked with sweat, and his mouth crisp dry from dehydration; Wally doesn't care, for he's more concerned for Eve waking up any moment now, the same thought that's been running through him for the past few hours.

He looks back up at the pod; she's still frozen as she was this morning. Outside air temperatures have hit 50˚ C (122̊ F), and not a single drop of condensation has dripped from her pod. Wally drops his head down in disappointment, nothing, after hours of waiting, has happened.

_Patience_, he told to himself, reassured that she will eventually thaw.

...

It's almost sundown, Wally is only slightly bored and Eve is still where she was at, motionlessly frozen in her pod where he put it, it's green light still pulsating. He is fiddling around with his tools on the still sizzling ground, wondering if he could work his way through the pod to release her. As he sorts through what he could use, he hears rumbling sounds in the distance.

He looks up to see darkness spread across the horizon. It wasn't a sandstorm, for there where no winds to kick up dust. These columns of clouds are all grey/black and towering high into the sky. Flashes of light could be seen in the blackness, it's where the soft earthshaking sounds are coming from.

"Uh-oh" He realizes it's a thunderstorm.

It seems it will be over them by nightfall, which is not long. Though they are not as powerful or deadly as a thunderstorm, it is still serious to find shelter because of flooding and lightning. He has witnessed some of his comrades suffer those fates, no where to hide from Mother Nature and died in the rain.

Wally has no idea how durable Eve's pod is against the weather, but just because its hi-tech doesn't mean it can last out here. He won't have time to move Eve back into the truck. Her pod is too heavy to move and because of the slope of the ramp, it might fall on him if he tries to move it up. Worse, he might hurt Eve inside it.

Wally remembers he has some ancient anti-rain devices in the truck. People used them against rain and where called 'umbrellas'; but he had only one.

Considering the situation, he could use it to protect Eve himself. It's very rare for a thunderstorm to pass by these times, mostly in dry heat or cold. Wally has forgotten what it felt like for rain to pour on his skin. And he never bathed as much as he could remember, there was not enough clean water to do so if there was any. The rain could be good since he was out in the heat all day. He felt like he could use a small bathing in the rain…

* * *

…later that night…

Wally's sleep-deprived eyes shot wide open in total shock as another lightning bolt stuck and missed him by a few meters; frying the ground it touched. The ungodly sound of electricity crashing down is painfully deafening to his ears. It's the 10th time in the night he was almost electrocuted. But he kept his spot, next to Eve's pod, holding an umbrella over it as he stood out in the downpour.

The rain was coming down hard, and from every direction because of wind. He was drenched right through his suit from head to toe, shivering in freezing rain, but he doesn't mind one bit. Although he does regret that he underestimated the terrible conditions of the storm; he'd give his other arm for some heat. The temperature dropped rapidly and had only then realized that he had to stay awake and hold an umbrella over Eve's pod until the rain stopped, his arms were becoming outstretched for holding it all night. But he didn't know how to find a way to get it back into the truck or to a safer place.

All he knows is that it will be dawn in a couple of hours, and hopefully the storm will be gone with by then.

Just as he finished that though, the 11th near-missing lightning bolt struck the street light next to him, screaming and jumping in surprise.

"_IF we make it to dawn"_ He thought as he looked in terror at the molten metal of the struck light post.

* * *

…A few hours later…

The rain had passed, but the cold has not.

A dark overcast hung over Sector _NA-001_, preventing sunlight from warming the surface that morning, its now below freezing (0˚ C).

_"Why of all times of the year for weather on this planet to go from extreme to extreme?"_ Wally wondered to himself as Wally shivered in the freezing air.

Since the Earth's protective atmosphere has long been chemically tainted and eaten away, the climates have become volatile to temperature changes, from very hot to very cold if there was sunlight or not over non-clouded or darkened regions of Earth.

It's getting way too cold now; Wally was shivering uncontrollably, his teeth hurt from it. His suit was wet from the downpour but he has no other forms of clothing to change into or dry off in. Standing out in the windy open air, the wet uniform stung his skin like needles; adding more misery on top of sleep deprivation, shell shock, and a common cold he got in the storm. He was thankfully astonished that he made it through 33 lightning bolts that came within a few feet of him, almost frying him on the spot, and he hasn't succumbed to hypothermia from freezing rain.

Wally looks at the source of his misery and his endurance, the still hibernating form of Eve. She was alright, as far as he could tell; no water droplets or electric bolts have touched her pod. He stood by her side all night, with an umbrella in his biologic hand (because of the lightning, his mechanical arm is a huge metallic attraction for electricity, but keeping an out stretched for hours holding an umbrella was very straining), its a wonder he hasn't succumbed to exhaustion either.

Her pod hadn't changed since she went into slumber, no more or no less frozen.

"_But must be kept safe regardless" _he thought to himself_._

He went back into the truck, and comes back out with his blanket.

Sure Eve is cryogenically frozen, but Wally couldn't be sure. Her pod was hollow and not very thick, she probably felt what was happening outside. The cryopod was to preserve her from aging, not from external harm.

Wally drapes the blanket around her pod, shielding her from the dropping temperature. As he ties up the blanket around her, he imagined what it would be like to embrace her if she wasn't frozen, to shield her from the cold and feel the warm of her presence in his arms; to just protect her and let her know how much he really cares for her.

Oh did he want her so badly.

He finishes tying up the blanket ends, satisfied he is willing to look after her well-being. The rush of the wind against his damp suit reminded him of his own, he started to shiver again. He doesn't have anything else to spare to keep himself warm, but even if he did, he would be more than content to give it to Eve.

She was safe and it was all that mattered to him.

He stares at Eve as he sits in front of her pod, curled up on the ground, holding his torso with his arms trying not to freeze; he imagined it was Eve holding him and not himself to stay warm. He will stay there until she wakes up, no longer how long it took; until then, he turns to his only sources of warmth: his bundled up body facing away from the wind, and her in his thoughts.

* * *

…The next day…

The winds are kicking up; a sandstorm is coming by nightfall. He has anticipated a storm would happen, but won't be able to move Eve's pod in time; he has to find a way to protect her and survive from a storm out in the open.

So all he could do was cover her pod with anything to protect her from the sand, she still had his blanket; so he added a trash can over the top, and container boxes concealing the sides, and he weighed everything down to be sure she was anchored. He just used the sheet of his hammock to cover himself up; since he can't fit in the shelter he made for her.

He stayed out there to be sure she didn't get blown away or hit by flying debris.

...

…17 hours of watching through the darkened clouds of sand and powerful gusts later, the sandstorm ended…

The bridge was covered in sand, and the winds seemed to have been blowing hard still, but the dust has settled.

Something stirs in one of the dunes of sand. Wally dug himself out, getting as much it out of his hair and off his suit; he is completely unfazed by the idea of surviving being buried alive, he has done that for hundreds of times, unlike his brothers. But he immediately checks up on the most important thing.

He digs out the trash can/boxed up cocoon out of the sand. And there she was, right where he left her from the storm. No sand seeped into the makeshift shelter, he seems satisfied. Despite having sand in his eyes, mouth, hair, and suit; she was still safe.

* * *

…A few days later…

Still anticipating for her to wake, his patience however is being put to the test. Wally thought about it real hard, but has come up with another way to help Eve wake up, try to unfreeze her himself. Remembering that she froze when the pod encased her, he will have to reverse what it did by deactivating the pod. Though he knows absolutely nothing about the inner workings of a cryogenic pod, he is willing to give it his best shot. He examines Eve's pod for any access point.

The cryopod's surface is flawless; a transparent metallic cylinder with no power source, internal lines, systems, or controls, just a symmetrically designed tube. Wally had to admit its very interesting technology, but he mentally cursed it for keeping him from Eve.

Nothing, all there is to access the pod is the pulsating beacon, the outlines of an opening can be seen, and it'll have to do.

Wally grabs a crowbar and pries it open.

Inside is a battery cell, a circular disc with a green light flashing on and off for the beacon, there are frosted CO2 (dry ice) lines linked with it, it had to be the pod's cryogenic supply that kept Eve frozen in place. He pulls out his pacemaker's charge cable from his belt; his best chance would be to short-circuit the pod.

He links the cable to his pacemaker; its alternator unit should provide enough charge to deactivate the device. Before he continues on, he contemplates his thoughts for a moment, thinking of finally getting to awaken Eve.

He thinks about what to say to her, how she will react; will she chew him out for awakening her? Will she kill him? Or…will she embrace him for saving her from being frozen for no reason? The last thought caught his attention, maybe she was unintentionally frozen and unfreezing her seemed like having being so grateful and she will thank him, hug and kiss, happily ever after. That warmed Wally's mind, giving him the motivation to go ahead and see what happens…

_ZAP!_

Wally is instantaneously confused. One: he was on the ground a few yards away, Two: his entire body (especially his chest) jerked and stung like hell and smelled like smoke, and Three: _"What the hell just happened?!"_

He looked up, his questions were answered, and his idea and fantasies backfired. He was electrocuted and knocked off his feet, by the cryopod's automated defenses. A few thousand volts was too much to overpower with his pacemaker, it's a wonder it wasn't fried, otherwise his heart wouldn't beat properly and die of cardiac arrest/electric shock.

"_Let's not do that again."_ He sighs in relief and slight disappointment.

* * *

…Later that afternoon…

The sounds of creaking wheels fill the streets of the polluted city, as a figure tugging on a cylindrical object can be seen.

Wally is tugging on an ancient red wagon, which contains Eve's pod, standing vertical. It's wrapped up in Christmas lights, all shining but not plugged into any power source.

Wally decided on one last way to somehow persuade Eve or her pod to let her wake. After some serious thinking, while remembering scenes from _Hello Dolly_, Wally learned that the man takes the woman on a special social engagement that involves taking the woman out to certain places in the city for certain activities when he wishes to convey his romantic emotions to the woman.

What was it called again? He wondered_, "A deep? Dent? Dat? D-Date? Yeah that's it, a date!"_ He decided to take her out on a date to wake her up and let her know how he feels about her! But while she's still in her pod, it'll be a challenge; but it's good that he's too determined.

It took a while for him figure out how to pull it off, but he managed to slide her pod onto a wagon from a ramp he made. After an hour or two of laboring, she was on the wagon, the wagon buckling while trying to support the pod's weight.

Wally also remembered it was customary for the man to express to the woman the way they felt around them by certain things they hold important, at least to one of them. So he draped some Christmas lights over her pod, shining as soon as they touched. He wanted to show her that she brings light to long dead objects like the light bulb she lit up with her touch, and all the colors imaginable on her beautiful form best fitted on how he wanted to express her in his mind.

Then he went about to treat Eve for a date, following the way it was done in the movie, almost exactly to the lines the man used and the activities used.

From a nice brisk walk down the streets, to rowing down the sludge river (not without laboring her pod into a raft), to an improvised fancy dinner with a picnic blanket he found, draped atop a crate with the lighters used as candles. He even had food (his canned survival stuff) prepped from his truck, earlier he was worried she might starve in her pod, so he kept offering most of his survival provisions to her, setting canned food and water in front of her to proprably draw her out of hunger. However that effort also failed, though she can't eat when she's frozen and perfectly preserved, he just goes along with it, eating sparingly and speaking politely, awaiting eagerly for her to wake up any second.

After a rather one-sided and uneventful dinner, Wally carries Eve to the final place for the date, and if he remembered correctly, was also the most crucial and romantic to any male-female outing: the sunset.

Wally has just finished engraving WALLY + EVE onto the side of a trash can with his laser, he and the frozen Eve sit side by side on a secluded bench overlooking the dried up valley of the Hudson Bay. It's a beautiful sunset; through the polluted atmosphere, the chemicals in the air alter the color spectrum of light in the sky. With rays of purple, crimson red and orange shining through clouds and smog on the horizon, bathing Wally and Eve in a warm and intimate light.

"Aw" Wally cues at the site of the falling sun.

Throughout the years, he's never seen the sunset in this whole new light before. He just regarded it as an indication of the end of a work day, a relaxing reminder, but he always end up knowing it'll be the same thing the next day, another day of meaningless labor. But now, with Eve in his life, and learning about love, the sunset really reflects everything he has been longing for ever since he watched _IOTAM_. It was something very safe and precious; everything he could want or need, giving him light for the events of his life to him in order for her to exist and for him to meet her, and maybe a future with her.

He looks to Eve on his left, the most wonderful source of warmth and love in the universe, more than he ever dreamed of was right next to him; but felt unreachable, all because of the cursed cryogenic abomination that encased her from him.

He places his left hand on the pod, over where her right hand is; it was the closest he'd get to hold her hand, that magical gesture that could instantly fill the void of his lonely heart. It could tell each other everything they need to know about love, a simple way for him to feel where his life belonged. He looks into the closed eyes of Eve, silently begging her to at least let him know that she can hear what he wants to tell her so badly.

"I love you." Though frozen, he breathlessly pours his heart out to her stasis form, his puppy dog eyes reflecting the longing he felt.

_If only she were awake…_

Wally's left hand stings badly. He is snapped out of his thoughts when he learned he can't pull his hand off her pod.

He tries harder.

"Ah!" his hand hurt and stung even more. It was stuck to the frost on the pod's surface.

He gives a hard tug; still nothing but pain.

He gives it one hard tug; some of his hand's skin peels off as his hand comes free.

"AAAAHHG!!" He screams as razor-sharp pain stings his palm.

He forgot to put on his glove whenever he moved the pod around. His bare skin was frozen to the surface of -100˚C cryogenic frost.

The pain is so bad tears formed up in his eyes and he drops to ground clasping his hand, he nearly loses his dinner at the site of bloody tissue layer in his hand and the bloody hand print of skin on Eve's pod.

He misses the sun disappearing below the horizon as he passed out from the pain.

* * *

…Later that evening…

Nighttime has fallen on the sector, and it's a very peaceful one too; with light winds and a cool air outside, as soothing a polluted place could ever get.

Outside of Wally's truck, he has set up the old TV screen and Eve's pod so they could enjoy the night and the rest of their "date". He's playing a match of Pong on the TV, the broken down game console still works after all these years. The score is Wally - 8000, Eve - 0. Though she is frozen, he just put another controller in front of Eve to make it seem she was at least there, just not participating in the match. Wally just flows with it, only anticipating her revival.

It's getting late, his mind nags about getting back to work tomorrow for a strange reason, but its a routine that's been imprinted into him; _must complete your directive._

But he won't give up on Eve, for he can still… ...

Wally tries to think of another alternative to get her out, but he has done everything from waiting, jumpstarting, short-circuiting, and courtship, only to realize that the date was the best idea. He has run fresh out.

And nothing worked; but like in _Hello Dolly_, the characters always brought out their emotions on a date. He reassured himself that the film was the universal method that how dates turn out guaranteed. He thinks about the evening, how things went; he followed every scene to the way the date was done and on his part, was exactly what happened in the movie, he thought, it should work. Right?

He glances over to Eve one last time to see if any of his outing's efforts worked.

Just the hum of her beacon.

Nothing.

He slumps to the ground, sighing in defeat; he finally gives up.

"All for nothing.." he said to himself, almost on the brink of tears.

As rare a peaceful night like this was on Earth, the dark and calm chill reflected the hopelessness of getting a response from her. Nothing happened, he felt like it was the worst night of his life; and he felt that lonely feeling again all through the night.

* * *

…The next morning…

Wally has decided that since there is no need to waste any more effort to wake Eve up, he will return to his original duties of garbage collecting. If he can't awaken her, the only choice would be to wait, but that wait could be a very, very long time; but there isn't much else to do but pass the time with a routine until then.

He just finished packing his usual things as he heads off to work, but not before he takes one last look at Eve, still mentally clinging to a fading light that she will somehow be there to greet him the moment she's in his sight.

Same as always, out on the ramp near the truck, still frozen solid, nothing else; she isn't going anywhere or doing anything.

It shattered whatever hopes Wally had left in him, as he slowly continues on to work defeated, with Hal close behind. A look of pure gloom is on Wally's face, his eyes were blood-shot pink/red from a week (168 hours) without sleep, energy drained from exhaustion, and lastly, his tears.

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**Poor Wally, but just wait until when Eve learns when he cared for her! Serious writing for that! **

**Hope you liked my longer chapters and detailed POVs. Chpt 11 soon!**


	11. Chapter 11: Time to Leave

**Rainy and lazy day outside, thought i could publish this in just minutes. Still not the owner of movie rights.**

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CHAPTER 11. TIME TO LEAVE

Wally's movements are slow that day. Normally he could shovel and compact several cubes in just a minute, but his depression makes minutes seem like hours as he finishes his first trash cube in 10 minutes of lazy scooping; but he just stops, feeling like there is no energy or spirit within himself to carry out his duties. Even Hal sensed his master's unrest.

He pulls out one of his zippo lighters from his front pocket, and flicks it on just like Eve showed him.

Wally just stares at the tiny little flame, thinking about her as memories of that evening ran through his mind. It was the only time he had interacted with another human being, a lovely woman no less; the few minutes he spent with her was the most eventful and happiest in his life. In the mere 10 minutes of just being with Eve compared to the three decades of his entire life of surviving on Earth, he felt truly alive.

He remembers seeing her face, an image of a girl that could strike so much affection into him to make him feel immeasurable love for her. He remembers her blue eyes looking at him when he talked for the very first time, something he thought he would never get to do or need to. He remembers how her warmth felt upclose, the finer details of her soft skin made him ache to hold her or ate least feel her touch, but as close as he got, it felt like a world apart.

He remembered her laugh; it sounded sweeter than the soft tune of _It only Takes A Moment_, and he _loved_ making her laugh as much as he _loved_ Eve herself. Then he thought of the moment he tried to hold her hand, how he came so close to feeling the warmth of his love run through her and from her to him.

But he cowered away at the last second, just because he was afraid Eve didn't feel the same to him and would mean certain death if he dared try.

He thinks of the way she is now: cold, lifeless, and unresponsive; maybe lost completely.

"_What if she never wakes up?"_

The question resounds in his mind. And now realizes, though she was there physically, Wally feels more alone than ever. He felt like he left without the world, without life, without a reason for a life; and without her…

An earthquake resounds through the city. He snaps back into reality, but was so lost he can't figure out what's happening until he notices that the accelerating wind blew the lighter's flame out. But he knew something was out of place. Earthquakes don't cause such strong winds.

A familiar roaring sound echoes from somewhere, "_a building collapsing? Is that whats casuing all this?"_ He wonders.

Hal barked at the light emerged from the sky, Wally sees where it's actually originating. It's just In the same direction of his home, and up in the sky. He saw the light of rocket engines; Eve's ship has returned.

His mind immediately alerted of what that meant.

"NO!" he stood up.

Wally has never run faster in his life. Even faster than at times when his life was endangered by sandstorms, falling towers, floods, or any emergency for that matter that involved his own safety. No, he was running because _she_ was in trouble. He had almost forgotten about Hal, whose struggling to keep up. It's a few kilometers back home through a maze of trash dunes and towers, his insides ache from the running; but he must go on, he must get to her.

His worst fears were confirmed as the giant recon ship that Eve has arrived on has landed next to the bridge of his home. He's almost there, but the rocket's side has opened up a cargo bay, facing his truck, and Eve is still out there.

"EVAH!"

A twinge of fear came over him as he saw a robotic arm reach out and grab Eve's cryopod, retracting into the cargo bay; she is leaving, no, being taken away from him.

"EVAH!" he screamed, almost out of breath from running as fast as he can.

Wally will not sit back and lose her forever. He'll be damned if she leaves he will be left to rot for the rest of his life here. No! For he was going to get to her, tell her that he loves her and wants to spend a lifetime with her. Even if it takes forever to free her or if it even takes his own life; he will spend at least another second with her.

Wally eventually figured he knew what he must do, he must get onboard.

But Hal has caught up to him, only does he realize that Hal was with him and he can't go to who-knows-where.

"Whoa!" he stops Hal in his tracks, shoeing him up the ramp of the truck.

"Stay!" he forcefully tells Hal. He seems to understand as he sits down.

The sound of the ships engine systems getting prepped for firing snaps Wally into a panicked hurry; he pays no mind to what he has on him or what he's leaving behind, but Eve's ship will launch any minute.

He heads back outside, sprinting after Eve, but he almost runs over the edge of the bridge when he tries to grab onto Eve's pod. The pod has retracted into the ship, and Wally realizes that there is only one way to get on. He's goanna have to jump to get in the ship. It's a 100 meter (390ft) drop to the dried up Hudson riverbed, and to a certain death.

The cargo bay doors begin closing; Wally is mentally and physically racing against tremendous odds.

Wally has no time to contemplate! He runs to the other edge, and boosts his speed with all his energy as he sprints like a mad man, and jumps with all his might!…

…he barely makes it! An 20 foot leap of faith; he landed in the cargo hold as the bay doors sealed shut behind him, the locks click in place with a hissing sound, the ship is pressurized for lift off.

He twisted his ankle as he hit the deck hard. He winces at the pain but pushes it to the back of his mind as he tries to find Eve.

"Evah!" he cries out to her.

He clamps onto a ladder as he tries to steadily climb to the higher decks, getting to where Eve's pod is stored. The pain in his foot is worsened as he tries to climb with a foot moving freely on its joint, causing him to slip on his bad leg every step he takes with it, but Wally presses onward determined to get to Eve's pod.

A series of whirling sounds ring in his ears as the ship's ignition systems and fuel-supplying turbopumps power up. Wally didn't have time to better secure himself as a powerful deafening blast resounds throughout the hull of the ship and Wally's body in such a ungodly trembling way he never thought possible.

The rocket boosters have ignited.

Wally could only cling tightly to the support ladder for dear life as the ship lifts off. He screams in terror as the g-forces rack onto his body and at the realization that he was on a flying rocket ship, about to go to the infinite unknown that he knew thought he would ever get to be in his life…

Instead of spending the first day without hope of reawakening Eve ever again in his life, now he was about to go fly into space.

…

Back on the ground, Hal cowers for cover as a column of smoke, dust, and heat span in all directions as the rocket engines ignite in a continuous earth-shaking roar of fire.

A pillar of white hot flames from the three main engines and a exhaust cloud trail stretches into the sky as the reconnaissance ship rises clear off the ground and into the sky, slowly rolling on it's longitudinal axis to aim for it's correct trajectory and accelerating to great speed. Shortly before going supersonic a cone-shaped visible moisture shockwave forms around the hull of the ship; moments later, an ungodly crack of thunder resonates throughout the sky as the ARV breaks the sound barrier. Slowly, the recon ship arches its very visible trajectory to the east as it flies higher and higher, into the direction of the Earth's rotation to get some gravitational assistance to reach orbit; and by then the sound of its might engines fall into faint whispers of rumbling in the sky.

All was quiet again as Hal comes out of cover from a collapsed freeway sign to see the curved arch of smoke the rose all the way to the stratosphere fading in the wind, and he looks higher to watch the now tiny moving speck of the rocket and his master disappear into invisible pinpricks and fly away into the heavens. If Hal wasn't mistaken, he thought he heard Wally's screams that were almost as loud as the rocket engines, even as both fade out as the ship leaves the atmosphere.

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**Watched alot of NASA achieve shots of Apollo, STS, and Ares launches to get the feel of early stage spaceflight, it's has given me good ideas for the next chapter too.**


	12. Chapter 12: Into The Frontier

**Despite the research and editing, I hope nobody flames me for any inaccuracies, time inconsistencies, and historical references made at some point in this space flight scene. After all, it's just a movie whose rights i don't own.**

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CHAPTER 12. INTO THE FRONTIER

The _Axiom_ Reconnaissance Vehicle soars through the stratosphere at hypersonic speeds, blasting through columns of polluted clouds as it accelerates to achieve escape velocity necessary to break free of Earth's gravity.

Wally immediately regrets jumping onboard, for he is fighting desperately against the G-forces on his body; the blood being forced out of his head makes his vision tunnel, and his already strained muscles getting weakened; the blood flow reversing towards the downward side of his body by the intense gravity adds more pain to his injured leg, and tears tendons in his arms holding against his multiplied weight. Wally felt like his vision was going to fade and lose his strength, he was going to pass out; at least he stopped screaming. His mind racing too fast, he just tightens his grip on the latter, bracing for whatever is to come.

He glimpses outside a porthole, from what he could see through his warped vision was the brown/blue haze of the sky darkening into a deep blue-black, and the horizon becoming more curved.

The ship suddenly shuddered, crashing sounds echo throughout the hull. Hundreds of thousands of _Buy N' Large_ artificial satellites were cluttered together in low orbit, banging and clanking against the ship at high speed.

Then, silence.

Wally still clung to the ladder as tight as his grip will allow, still in shock until the dead calm gets his attention. And noticed that he didn't feel any G's enacting on his body.

The A.R.V. has cleared Earth's junk-littered upper atmosphere and its rocket boosters shut down. But why they didn't fall back down or keep blasting away was beyond Wally. Risking a look, he peeks outside the viewport and is awestruck at the most spectacular site of the sky. Which was now all stars.

They're more beautiful than he's ever seen them before; no thick brown haze or satellite littered sky to filter out all the brilliance they shone. Their so crystal clear, quiet, and magnificent against the vast blackness.

"Oooh…" He cues as he takes in the tranquility of space, having never experienced such peace and such beauty ever in his lifetime, which was felt for the first time as very...relaxing. Content.

He then looks back down on the planet they just left. It's polluted and satellite littered atmosphere glowed in a phlegm-like color, highlighting the spherical shape, the green oceans and desert tan landmasses. Already tens of thousands of kilometers away and further drifting from it, making it appear smaller than a coin against the vast blackness; and it still looked as ugly as it is up close, even the ground which they had departed from in the sector could be seen, along with all of the continents and oceans in full view.

The Earth looked far smaller than he imagined. So small that he felt that it, along with himself, was insignificant. Not insignificant akin to being treated like dirt cheap by those he grew up with and the sense humility he had throughout his life. Here, seeing the entire world he knew up, is so patheically tiny against an infinitum of empty space felt like a whole different magnitude of insignificance.

Wally was looking at the entire world as it is that he grew up on, survived on, and suffered on, essentially everything he knew in his existence that could be blocked away by just holding out his thumb to cover the view of the entire planet. He felt like as if he, and every materialistic matter or concern was completely meaningless seeing how small he truly was against the universe.

Something else didn't feel right, he failed to notice he let go of his grip, but he didn't fall; he floated in the air. Wally never realized that there was no gravity in space. Panicking, he tries to grab on to the latter; but, decides against it.

He felt…really good, euphoric; the weightlessness, the serenity, the brilliant starlight, it all felt like ultimate elation to Wally, like floating inside a womb. An experience he has never even thought possible. Sure he never even though of this kind of thing in his life, he was afraid of new things, but, he decides to just go with it.

He even savors the trip up the cargo hold to where Eve's pod is stored; the zero gravity really takes the labor out of climbing a latter. Plus it made him feel like he could fly like Eve.

Wally grabs a hold onto the bays many structural bars, and he sees Eve's pod secured into place, with other identical pods. At least four of them just like hers, more frozen human beings were in them, more vegetation scouts, and they all wore white uniforms like Eve.

Her pod was the only one with a glowing green light, and the others lie dormant.

It was the pod's occupant that he only cared about. He floats over to see her face through the pod, just under a wide viewport.

Outside, Wally can see they were approaching the Moon. Just sitting in place of the viewport until it started to grow, and grow faster and bigger as the ARV flies closer.

"Look at that, Evah." He says excitingly to her catatonic form. He knows she can't hear him, but she was there with him at least.

While trying to focus on waking her up as he had futilly done countless times, Wally couldn't resist drinking in the breathtaking sight of the Moon expanding beyond his field of vision, making Wally look from one side to the other mouth agape in awe.

Back on Earth, the Moon was just a radiant orb of light in the night sky as the sun was the bright orb of light in the day; while surviving for most of his life, he never spared the thought of grasping what it really was. But now, a quarter of a million miles away from Earth, in the complete safety and isolation of a spacecraft, Wally was seeing the Moon up close and personal for all it was unlike anything he ever imagined it to be. It wasn't just some celestial light in the sky, it was a place. A world of its own, much like Earth in cosmic terms.

The pure white lunar surface was unevenly riddled with numerous impact craters that were ranged in sizes from small pinpricks to continent wide calderas, ridged with mountains and dark gray patches of flat plains that spanned for thousands of miles. The surface of the entire Moon was a blanket of fine regolith powder, looking indistinguishable from snow that reflected almost all of the sun's harsh and raw light making it shine with almost blinding luminosity and heat, and shadows that were hidden in pitch darkness and cold; and with no atmosphere to distort color or filter sunlight, it's surface was so crystal clear that even rocks on the surface could be picked out in detail from orbit; and with no atmosphere to circulate air, every scarred grove of craters or jagged mountains or dried up lava plains that once flowed with seas of molten rock, were completely unweathered over the eons of completely undisturbed peace in the vacuum, as if they were just formed as they had during the Moon's creation, looking entirely brand new since then.

Uninhabitable as it is, the Moon is so unlike like Earth with it's hideous and entirely once-overpopulated now dead, unforgiving and soiled landscape and clogged atmosphere of human impurities and pollution, there was absolutely nothing here on the Moon to make it appear as it's mother planet; its was entirely featureless and sterile, untouched by either human settlement nor the trash that drowned the Earth in filth. The Moon was just unclaimed and unexplored, naturally and completely desolate of almost any civilization-intended influence, as has been for over four billion years.

It is a magnificently desolate world of its own that outshines the once one and only divinity of the life-harboring planet of the Earth itself; a bright light against the blackness with such untainted beauty like Eve's vanilla white feminine form glowing in the ugliness of the brown Earth when Wally first his set eyes on her.

Passing over a region on the eastern corner of the near-side facing Earth named _Mare Tranquillitatis _(the Sea of Tranquility), Wally was close enough to see the ancient _Apollo XI _landing site.

The gold-sheet skinned lunar lander _Eagle_ descent stage stood there lonely, untouched, and unweathered, looking in as mint condition as it was when it first touched down in 1969 AD, almost a millennium ago. Standing proud and true as the red-stripped and white-stared blue field flag of the old United States planted nearby; even the bootprints of the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin themselves, even after all these centuries, were still perfectly preserved in the lunar soil by the windless vacuum of space; and will be preserved for eternity. Serving as the monument of a civilization that has long left the planet this natural satellite orbited, a reminder of the human civilization's spirit in exploration and it's first steps on a another celestial body.

But what was really a sight to see, one out of place and out of belief, was a _Buy N' Large_ hologram-advertisement sign flickering on nearby the landing site. It read: _BNL OUTLET COMING SOON!_

If it could govern, trash, and evacuate an entire planet, and finding that it could blatantly taint the most historic sites of humanity's accomplishments, even those not on Earth, _Buy N' Large_ could be literally anywhere.

The Apollo landing site disappeared from view as the perpetual white/gray of rocky hills and forever dried seas of molten lunar bedrock flew from one side of the viewport to the other as the ARV was traversing it's way over _Mare Crisium_ (the Sea of Crisis) towards the day-night transition to sling-shot around the Moon's far side; passing low enough over the moonscape for the horizon to lessen it's curvature, like flying sideways high over the ground on Earth.

Starring straight at the Moon's surface from above and at such low height of a few miles above the surface, the weakness of the Moon's gravity began to make Wally actually drift gently towards the viewport, as if he were pulled down. The attracting downward force of gravity, though very weak unlike Earth, Wally felt the percentile return of his weight as light as paper and his bearings in his senses of balance, feeling as close to as looking down on solid ground from an angle, like he could just float straight down towards the ground on the Moon.

A multitude of emotions and thoughts ran through Wally's mind at this realization; while the elation of being in space and so far away from home unlike any distance Earthly possible was a perception and life-altering experience in itself, he was at a lose to actually being here, so close to the enigmatic objects he saw in the sky on Earth, day or night. Here, Wally felt the deep wonder of being so close to the beautiful white orb in the night sky he saw and knew of through his whole life, and now he held his hand out to the viewport, having come to a perigee as close to a few miles above the lunar surface, a privilege he never thought possible, as if to actually try and _touch_ the Moon.

Wally felt as if he were close enough to just step out and walk on the face of the Moon itself with his own feet, setting foot on a whole new world where no one has ever explored just as the Apollo astronauts did so long ago, was just beyond too spectacular to put into words.

Soon, the brightness of the surface fades from bright reflective white to dim gray, then to total shadow as the ship passes over the twilight terminator between day and night on the Moon, the Sun and the dwarfed Earth have completely disappeared behind the curvature, the glow of the Earth's day side setting into the lunar night. Everything turns pitch black on the dark side, but the view of the cosmos lights up again, seeing more stars than he ever could see in the clearest nights on Earth, more stars than there were blackness on the far side of the Moon.

After a few minutes in the darkness, cracks of light flood the interior of the A.R.V. as the sun slowly inches over the Moon's other horizon, curves of light stretching into a golden-rayed aurora over the curvature of the Moon, blended with the silvery powdered surface and the starlit blackness; a lunar sunrise. Then, another sight he will never forget, is the slowly creeping rise of the Earth's day side rising over the Moon following the sun.

An Earthrise

In just a mere twenty-four minutes, Wally had experienced weightlessness, seeing his home planet, leaving it, orbiting the Moon, seeing the historical landing sites of it, and witnessed the rise and fall of the Sun and Earth from a entirely different world.

Wally felt so many forms of feelings of seeing such beautiful and impossible sights for his lifetime in one day, and lets the images of the majestic, awe-inspiring, once in a few lifetimes' sights sink into his memory; an experience of all the phenomenons of orbiting Earth's natural satellite that he should remember for the rest of his life. If only Eve could have seen it…

A soft pulsation sound vibrates throughout the hull, and Wally feels the inertia of the ships movement as he suddenly floats away from the viewport. Grabbing a hold of railing, he looks back out of the viewport, and sees both the Earth and the Moon shrink out of view within minutes.

The A.R.V. has engaged its sub-light engines, having completed it's Earth-Moon transit coast and reached the apogee of it's lunar gravitationally assisted sling-shot for insertion into an interplanetary trajectory, was now zooming gracefully into outer space.

Wally stares at the pinpricks of the Earth-Moon system, his sense of smallness aplified by witnessing the planet, or 'ground', he walked all his lifedisapear into the black void of space. Now they were millions of miles away and are going even farther by the moment, probably farther than he has ever learned of how much of space lay beyond the Moon.

While seeing it and Earth from afar was life-changing already, who knew what else was out there, and it thrilled Wally to await and see more things that could do more than change his life a few times over.

The exhilaration, relaxation, and the overwhelming sense of being so far away exhibit themselves as a sigh of wonderment as he floats weightlessly next to Eve, starring out at the cosmos; he has a front row seat to the most ecstatic light show in the universe: the universe itself.

"It's so beautiful…just like you." He said quietly to her, longing that she could savor the view he beheld before him.

He stays like that for some time, noting every celestial spectacle and constellation the A.R.V. comes across as it sets out on its trajectory to leave the Solar System, back to the _Axiom._

…Throughout the next few days…

The ride was smooth, but they were moving fast. With ion-pulse rockets and gravitational assistance, they were moving at a fraction of light-speed (a tenth of 300,000 kilometers per second).

Within twelve hours after they lifted off from Earth, the A.R.V. had slingshot around the sun in a solar orbit and let the gravitational assistance of the maneuver propel them to the outer planets. Wally enjoyed every moment and every view of them. He especially loved the strange ring world named 'Saturn', the dark blue auroras of the planets clouds and ice rings were as mesmerizing as Eve's eyes.

They spent hours orbiting one of Saturn's moons, Titan, at the very edge of the gas giant's magnetosphere; the ship passed a strange aurora cloud that formed between Titan and the night side of Saturn, a flux tube of purple plasmatic matter, or rather, antimatter. The by-products created by the captured solar wind entrapped between the electromagnetic fields of the gas planet and its satellite, creating a steady stream of electrically charged particles that connected the moon to the planet, a natural formation sight of antiprotons.

The A.R.V. circled the flux tube, careful not to even make contact with the tube or else risk annihilation if the matter of the ship ever touched the antimatter tube. The A.R.V. however did deploy superconducting magnetic scoops, paper-thin sails that filtered out the ionized particles from the formation, and drawn it into the ship's reactor.

Then, something amazing happened for Wally.

After minor course corrections, Saturn suddenly disappeared. And the starlight around the ship stretched around it like a bubble, the front turning a shift of blue and the rear violet red.

Wally had no idea what just happened, but it was the most spectacular thing he has ever seen. What he didn't know what it was, was the A.R.V. had gone to warp speed.

After harvesting enough antimatter necessary to provide the mass-energy required for the alcubierre drive, the ship had the power of stretching and contracting space to achieve superluminal speeds, having created a hyperdimensional warp bubble with negative energy generated by the drive's power unleashed by antimatter to contort the fabric of space-time, able to reach distant stars without actually moving through space, but rather space moving around it, which was why he didn't feel any movement, and will make the flight _a lot_ faster.

After just a half-minute, the ship has already passed through the Kuiper Belt, at the very edge of Sol. With the view of the warped space, and the colors of the outside belt, Wally drank in the glows of the starlit ice clouds that zoomed right past them. This whole experience of faster-than-light travel seemed like he was in an acid trip.

Hours later, the A.R.V. has the perfect view of the Oort Cloud surrounding the Solar System, it's foggy appearance beyond the Kuiper Belt formed a nebula-like blur of tiny particles surrounding a tiny central speck that is actually the sun. It disappeared in the red shift of the stretching end of the warp bubble.

The space outside started turning red as the ship leave's Sol's heliopause and into the interstellar medium, the space between stars; but even surrounding neighbor star systems such as Centuri, Eridanus, Vega, and Elipson whizzed right by the incredible speed of the A.R.V.'s warp capabilities.

Looking back at the receding home system and the other stars, Wally recognized familiar shapes he saw back on Earth, only reversed and light-years away. It's hard to believe such celestial bodies looked so small, and no matter what world he was on, he's part of the constellations.

After a week of traveling, Wally was struck senseless other than his eyesight by the cluster of trillions of stars whirling in deep space in a godly sized vortex centered around a radiant, cloudy core; spanning his entire eyesight against the void.

It was the entire Milky Way galaxy, and he was at the very edge of it, the best view of it possible.

The slow moving twirl of the glimmering stardust arms was hypnotizing, each star was a solar system, and there were billions and billions of them out there. The galactic disk looks like it was made of every color spectrum possible; suddenly the wonders of the Earth, Moon, Saturn, Sol, and everything they passed to get here was utterly nothing compared to the galaxy he was seeing now with his own two eyes. Its beauty was the most blinding image Wally had ever seen, a picture of this moment in his memory he will hold forever.

However, he thinks to himself, it will always be bested only by the first time he laid eyes on Eve.

Wally had to break away from looking out the window for ten days straight, but he never broke away from being next to Eve, or at least keeping his eyes on her, making sure she's ok. He didn't know where they were going or how long they will be gone, but he surely doesn't want to starve or freeze to death before they get there, because he may never live to see Eve again.

He had completely forgotten about his own survival or his body's needs; he didn't bring any provisions or any food, just his pacemaker's charger, his cassette player, his utility bag, and his zippo lighter, that's it.

His stomach growled furiously as he had not eaten for some time, he was too restless from the whole new experience to sleep. It was very cold too; he was accustomed to the hot temperatures of Earth's sandy and carbon-polluted deserts, but not the dry, sub-freezing, pure oxygen atmosphere of the ship. The cryogenic pods had to be kept in such subzero conditions in order to function properly; however, the extreme coolness spread to all of the environmental systems.

As he searched the whole ship, he was surprised to discover that there were space travelers supplies, a bunk, food and water, but no one was onboard; just himself, Eve, and the 4 other frozen human beings. Now he felt alone again with a hibernating Eve, but now he was trillions and trillions of kilometers from home.

He kept his sights darting between Eve, the view outside, and whatever part of the ship he was searching, to keep himself comfortable against the thought of being so far away. About this time, he has grown use to the zero gravity, finding it such a blessing to move around so easily like swimming in air. Also his sprained ankle has healed nicely in the weightlessness; he hardly felt any pain without the need to support his own weight.

He eventually found the control room in the front of the ship, still within view of Eve in the cargo hold.

The cockpit controls and seats were all there, but no one is flying the ship. Wally looked over the control pad; it glistened and glowed with touch-activated holographic screens filled with celestial navigation readouts, engineering & mechanical status, and all kinds of other systems; to Wally, it was incomprehensible. There were A LOT of things Wally doesn't know about how much advanced technologies have developed since humanity left. And outside the forward window, was the stretching starlight and blue shift of compressed space-time.

He saw something on one screen that caught his attention, a map. Wally touched it and a three-dimensional holographic projection of a interstellar starchart appears. It highlighted the red dot of the A.R.V., and the green line of the already traversed trajectory; from Earth, warped out of Sol, through the local neighborhood, past hundreds of other star systems within the Orion Arm, and finally to the outer galactic rim.

A very short, hair-distanced red line laid before the A.R.V.'s direction, to their destination, a rather large object hidden in a nebula just beyond the very edge of the galaxy. Wally zoomed in on it and a hologram of a spaceship shaped like an oceanic vessel appears; highlighted with the numbers _BnL_ _SL-AX-0001_.

An instrument panel pinged a red light for a moment, indicating that something was supposed to shut down.

Then suddenly, a whirling down sound echoed throughout the ship.

Wally looked outside; the blue shift of compressed space disappeared, and the warped starlight returned to pin-points in the blackness. The A.R.V. had dropped out of warp speed, now free floating in dead space.

But aside from being shocked and worried that something went wrong with the ship, Wally was shocked to find the same purple aurora clouds of the nebula that were on the map right before him. There were hardly any other stars in this direction, already passing into the void of intergalactic space, but there was this nebula, here at the edge of the Milky Way. And it was a beautiful sight, even compared to everything he has seen during the voyage here.

A silhouette can be seen through the particle clouds, almost in relative relation with the shadow's position on the map with the highlighted end of the hairline path.

The sub-light engines fire up again, the ship drifting closer to the nebula and the hidden object within it. Wherever they were going, they were almost there.

But where, or more likely, _what_, is it?

Wally was goanna find out soon enough.

* * *

**Alrighy! I think i broke enough laws of astrophysics for one chapter; and I hope the research and lunar historical reciting was good. And hope the renaming title was fitting for Wally's voyage into the final frontier, the beginning of his odyssey for his Eve. 'To boldy go, where no cleanup worker has gone before...' **

**Feel free to Read & Review. Next, Chapter 13: DOCKING**


	13. Chapter 13: Docking

**Had alot of fun writing this one, kinda super long and introducing more characters! Thanksgiving break is coming soon so i will have a lot of time to draft new chapters:)**

**furthermore, i don't own the rights (We all don't anyway). So without further a due....**

* * *

CHAPTER 13. DOCKING

There's something hidden within the purple nebula. Whatever it is, it's big.

A planet? No, it's not spherical or round. A planetoid? An asteroid? Wally speculates, trying to make out its shape; but it strangely looked familiar.

As the A.R.V. clears through the purple gases clouds, Wally can see it clearly, he gasps when he realizes what it is.

A gigantic starship.

It must be 5 kilometers long from bow tip to aft tip, and its superstructure from the keel to it's spire must be at least 7 kilometers high. It's primarily designed like Earth's ancient oceanic cruise liners, with a fat hull that had thousands, maybe millions of viewports; a streamlined superstructure and communications tower, and traditional designed bow and stern. It had another superstructure to it, a sort of engineering spire that runs down from the keel that gives the vessel a look of a space station attached to it. Two massive Ion Drive engines were on each side, with propulsive motors a hundred times bigger than the A.R.V. On the bow's starboard side, the side the A.R.V. is approaching, bore the unmistakable red circle and white & blue lettering of the Buy N' Large logo. It's a BnL starliner, but not just any; it must be a flagship, the largest of the fleet.

Wally notices the christened name above the logo, and confirms its familiarity.

_BnLS AXIOM SL-AX-1001_

The very same ship Wally has seen from that holo-Ad back on Earth. The largest moving object ever constructed by human hands. Wally never believed it actually existed or would ever see it to be real; and here it proudly was.

The A.R.V. is about a kilometer away, but the _Axiom_ filled the cockpit view, Wally stared almost straight up at it; already dwarfed in the recon ship like an oil tanker against a dingy.

The recon ship slows down as it lines up next to the _Axiom_, "Whoa" Wally steps away, and thinking they were going to hit, but he actually felt a bit worried standing next to that goliath.

The side of the Axiom opens up, large sliding 50x100 meter doors, big enough for the ARV to fit; they were going to dock.

Two, smaller unmanned tug ships emerge from the opened bay and pass around the A.R.V. Wally wonders if he had to do anything. Here in the control room, did he had to pilot the thing inside? No way, he literally had no idea what to do. T

he smaller ships make way for the A.R.V. as they each emit blue beams of light on the ship. Tractor beams, and they guide the ship in.

Wally stays frozen in his place, still floating in zero gravity, clasping the chair making sure he didn't do anything wrong.

The doors to the bay close with a hiss of air as the docking bay repressurizes.

The A.R.V. comes in contact with locking clamps; the ship is braced into place with a satisfying clink. The tug rockets disengage the tractor beam, the recon ship slides down a tad as its weight is supported.

Weight, artificial gravity has kicked in. Wally feels it as he falls to the cockpit deck.

"Ow" he lands hard.

He tries to stand, but he keeps falling over, feeling no strength in him to support his own weight, it almost hurts to try. He doesn't know that because of the prolonged journey in zero gravity, his bones and muscles have weakened dramatically. It'll return eventually as he moves around some more.

He clasps onto the side viewport, trying to pull himself up to relay his new surroundings. The inside of the docking bay was unlike anything Wally has ever seen, an environment totally opposite he is from. It was all clean, brightly lit, sterile, advanced, well maintained, and robotics everywhere. He notices no human crew were present at all, everything here was unmanned. The tugs, the A.R.V. itself; Hell, the only thing unrobotic he has seen yet was Eve, he wonders if this entire ship could be her home.

The deck suddenly becomes bustling with mechanical activity. Robotic arms, robotic devices, robotic equipment, robotic everything was tending to the recon ship in all directions, like an automated facility show; refueling its engines, running diagnostics on its systems, unloading cargo, repairing its—

Wait! One of the things being unloaded was Eve's pod, along with the other frozen humans.

"Evah!" Wally tries to gather his slowly returning strength to get to her. He crawls and clasps his way to the open hatch. Wally manages to get enough strength to stand.

A noise startles him; he notices sounds and movement coming from out of the deck next to Eve's pod, where it was to be placed along with the other pods.

He hides behind one of the cryopods. He listens closely to what the sounds are and the movement. An elevator emerges from the deck, and there stood, more humans.

* * *

A squad of post-recon cleaners; 4 of them, all dressed in white uniforms and carried sterilizing equipment, scrubbers, washers, etc.

One of them, a short teenage boy steps out. He had short dark hair and wore a newsboy cap that had a red siren light on top; and he had a darkened transparent HUD over his soft brown eyes. He wore a white jumpsuit with his name 'MOE' imprinted on his BnL _Axiom-A.R.V._ nametag. He was equipped with a hi-tech microbe obliteration scrubber and a container with lots of sterilization fluid strapped to his back. He wore heavy duty cleaning gloves and boots much like Wally's, but Moe's was rubber and far cleaner. He was about a head or two shorter than the rest of the crew, not to mention younger; but judging from his serious pose, he must have been the head in charge of them. He tries to line up the other 3 behind him; they seem to be having a hard time trying to pay attention.

"Alright, follow me. Whoa, whoa! WHOA! Stop!" he steps off the elevator but tries to stay in sync with an awaiting lighted path at their feet.

"Moe! Come On! It's just a frickin' guide path, lets just get the job done!" The crew member with a vacuum device protests to Moe's strict routine.

"Yeah, stop being such an O.C.!" another cleaner shouts.

"Shut up! We don't move unless our path is cleared to go!" Moe shouts back to them.

Sure enough, the directed path to Eve's pod pinged on and lead to her.

"Alright, let's go!" Moe clears them to make their way over to Eve's lowered pod.

"Shrink." The vacuum cleaner says under his breath, but that didn't go unheard by Moe.

He hated being joked about his height, he was only 4ft 8in.

"I heard that! It's not funny!" Moe says defensively as the other three laughed at him.

But he shouldn't let it get to him, for he had to stay focused and look professional, in order to compensate for the name-calling.

At age 16, Moe is the youngest certified crew member on the _Axiom_, personally charged with the maintenance and sterilization of the A.R.V. and all of its imports and exports. Basically scrubbing and cleansing all the cargo that went in and out of the ship. He took pride in his job, and took it well, maybe too well. He was pretty much the overseer of A.R.V. docking operations; but he is still ridiculed by his subordinates and fellow crew for a lot of things. From his age, to his height, and most of all: his Obsessive Compulsive behavior; always sticking to textbook procedures and protocol, even for the simplest of tasks. They also poked at his fear of germs, and he would always try to get every last microbe off, no matter what it took.

And that's exactly what he intends to do, stick to the S.O.P. and ensure the cleanliness of this ship! He thinks to himself standing at the ready, ignoring the other crewmembers rolling their eyes.

Moe activates his Heads Up Display and begins the scanning process on Eve's pod, looking for anything that's changed on the pod and it's occupants during their missions. He notices the glowing pulse of Eve's beacon, its something he's never seen before. But it doesn't concern him; it'll be squawked by maintenance soon when they arrive.

He switches his vision over to electron microscan, Eve's pod lights up in some places as bacterial traces of soil particulates are detected, dust. His vision evaluates and reads: "_16% FOREIGN CONTAMINATION."_

Moe is disgusted; dust is a form of atmospheric/domestic aerosol that can become a deadly respiratory disease carrier onboard a sterilized spaceship.

"Oh!" He takes out his scrubber and scrubs in professional strokes across the surface of Eve's pod.

The Extraterrestrial Vegetation reconnaissance scouts were among the messiest of shipments, returning from their top-secret destinations unwittingly bringing back god-knows-what from whatever world they explored.

He finishes his last minute scrub as the others get to work on sterilizing, buffering, polishing, finishing the pod, and moving on to the next one.

* * *

Wally watches from behind the cryopods, still trying to figure out what to do. His strength has returned quite a bit so he could move and sneak around. But there isn't much to hide behind, beyond the cryopods he's hiding. He looks at the cryopod, it's an empty one. Then he shifts his attention over to the cleaners, studying their routine.

"Hm" An idea brews in his head.

He enters the open pod, lying down and closing it without making a sound. As the robotic arm retrieves his pod, he braces himself for whatever is to come.

* * *

Moe finishes off the third pod and turns his attention to the next lowered one as the others finish up.

Moe activates his HUD.

"Huh? What's this?" This pod was registered empty, but it's been opened and tampered with recently, and theirs something, or someone, inside it.

He notices new hand prints on the side, and movement inside. Someone IS inside the pod.

Moe opens the pod. "What the?"

Wally freezes, he had been found.

Moe just stares at Wally; He's never seen this kind of person before.

"Who are-" Before Moe asks who he is, he finally notices Wally's weathered attire, confused, he activates his microscan.

It almost blinds Moe when all of Wally registers as dust, dirt, crud, grime, oil, grease, sand, and bodily sweat altogether:

"_+100% FOREIGN CONTAMINATION."_

His scanner was screaming off the charts, but Moe screamed even louder as he jumped up awestruck and horrified at the presence of such filth and uncleanness. His siren lights up.

"Oh My God! What The Hell Is This?! No, No, No, So Wrong! So Dirty! Very Very Dirty!" Moe goes haywire; Wally shrinks down in his pod in confusion and fear.

"Must Clean Immediately! Eradicate Any And All Foreign Contamination!"

Moe pulls out his scrubber, ready to furiously wash down Wally with all his skill and might.

"Ah! G-Get away from me!" Wally backs away from him, missing Moe's scrubber.

"Huh? Stand Still, I Must Clean!" Moe reaches out to Wally, trying to scrub his face.

"Agh! Get Off Of Me!" Wally cries out to him, he falls out of the pod, pushing Moe clear of him.

"Aaaagh!" Moe groans in frustration. "I Said I Have To CLEAN You!"

Only then he notices Wally's filthy trail of his body in the pod and on the ground, along with Wally himself.

"AAAGH! STOP MAKING SUCH A MESS!!" Moe shrieks in anger as this horrifying filthiness worsens.

"Moe? What the hell is going on?" The other three cleaners stare at Wally and Moe, amused at the site of their neurotic colleague losing his mind at seeing the dirtiest thing in his life.

* * *

At the far end of the bay, a hatch opens; three men come marching into the docking bay.

Two of them were strong, identical looking guards; stewards of the ship. They wore dark, neatly pressed servant uniforms and carried police officer equipment; with energy binder handcuffs, tractor beam pens, electroshock batons, taserguns, and siren equipped peaked caps.

The third man, was shorter and had less of a build, but wore a BnL Navy uniform; his service nametag read 'MCPO F. GOFER'. His shoulder sleeves bore the enlisted stripes of Command Master Chief Petty Officer; the chief of the boat, head of security.

They marched into the direction of commotion at the cleaner station, the looks on their faces meant directive.

* * *

The commotion was the heavy laughter of the cleaning crew. Moe was having a hard time trying to keep up with cleaning Wally's every movement on the deck. His entire body was covered in hundred-fold layers of germs; he was tracking it in the air and the ground.

Moe finishes Wally's last footprint with great speed.

"Alright you! Time for me to-"

Wally takes another step back, out of fear and amusement at the neurotic little guy.

"Oh COME ON!" Moe scrubs with compulsive precession and speed; Wally is fascinated that he isn't the only quirk in the universe.

"Look! Everything Needs To Stay Clean! UNDERSTAND?!"

Moe tries to leap for Wally, but Wally, having learned of Moe's little weakness, slaps a handful into Moe's face, trying to shoe him off.

"Hey-" When Moe finally processes that Wally just slapped dirt into his face to fend him off him, his mysophopia kicks in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"

He has lost it. Moe scrubs his face with full force and speed in panic.

Wally chuckles in relief, then notices that the rest of the crew are too distracted to notice him as they are laughing their rear ends off at Moe. And he notices a new group of humans approaching. They looked serious, maybe they were after him he wondered.

He quickly and quietly jumps back into the empty cryopod while everyone still isn't looking. He still had to see where this was going to go.

"What the hell is going on here?"

The cleaning crew instantaneously sobered up; trembling when the realize they were caught goofing by Chief Gofer.

"I Said 'What In Thee Hell Is Going On? Sailors!" the Chief had a voice of a drill instructor, sending a spine straightening terror down their backs as they stood at attention, including Moe; his face was still dirty but had just a big of a fear of superiors.

"N-N-Nothing sir!" Moe stuttered nervously.

"You know the rules! No insubordinate behavior on duty! Is That Clear?!"

"Yessir!" They shouted in unison.

"A'ight, Now return to your standby stations immediately, we will be taking over these pods for post-mission evaluation, for these cryopods and occupants contain highly classified information, now leave!"

"Aye sir." Moe and the three cleaners began marching out of the bay.

Chief Gofer pulled out a security chip from his pocket and inserted it into the fifth cryopod's side.

It chirped negative as the pod did not contain any biological data collected.

"Negative" Gofer said empathetically as he moved to pod four, it appears he has been doing this same meaningless routine for a long time also.

"Negative" same result for pod four, he moves on to the next one.

"Negative" Gofer was about to move on to the next pod when he saw movement in pod three.

"What the?" He jerks his head back; the figure in the pod was motionless through the fogged metallic casing. Its occupant looked dirty; maybe Scout 3 must have muddied himself.

"Eh" Gofer shrugs it off as he moves on to pod two.

-

"Whew" Wally sighs quietly in relief that he was not caught for risking a peek at the human inspecting his pod. He laid back as stiff and lifeless as he could, and tried not to make a single sound.

This time he risked another look, at the human still on pod 2, approaching Eve's pod.

"Negative" Gofer pulls out the chip and plugs it in to Scout 1's pod.

"Neg-" Gofer was cut off as a confirmative chirping from Eve's pod. "huh?" He is taken aback. A positive, this has never happened, it shouldn't be possible.

"It's gotta be a malfunction."

He notices the pulsating green light.

"My God. Is it.." One of the stewards whispers.

"Yes. It's reading positive." Gofer hastily taps his COM earpiece.

"_This Master Chief Gofer in Recon Docking to Command, Charlie Gulf, I repeat, Charlie Gulf. We have a vegetation scout who's recovered a live specimen! This is no bull, I repeat! We have a Code Green!"_ Gofer said with utmost alertness.

At that moment, the entire dock came to a halt as an alarm sounded, all the lights turned green.

Wally's heart raced as he tried to process all this new confusing commotion, he can hear everything through the pod. Was something happening to Eve or was going to happen to Eve?

A few seconds later, Gofer's COM gets a response.

"_This is Command to Docking; we have confirmed your findings, now we need further authentication. Report the E.V.R.E. scout to the Bridge immediately."_ A monotone voice replies on the other end of the line. (guess who that is)

"_Aye Aye." _Gofer switches off his earpiece, he taps a command onto a holo-compad, and in just a moment, a maglev tram floats up to them.

Gofer turns to the stewards. "Orders are to report to the bridge, we are to bring Scout 1 to the Captain and First Officer, to see if this is legit, so lets get to it!"

"Sir, Yes Sir." The stewards tap a command into Eve's pod.

Eve's pod suddenly levitates off the ground and lowers into the tram. Wally almost jumps out of his pod when he sees that she is going to be taken away again.

Gofer and his guards board the tram, and begin to hover off.

"Evah!" Wally runs out of the pod and sprints as quietly as he can as he follows the tram to the elevator the men entered from, without hesitating on where he is going or to wonder the feeling of being followed.

* * *

Moe crouched down from his work station, on the second level of the dock. He wondered what was up with the pod they just found, he couldn't hear the Chief's voice even without that damn loud alarm. What is Code Green anyway, and what's so secret about those pods?

What concerned Moe even more was to find that unknown man who makes a mess everywhere. He is unlike anything he's ever encountered before. He _IS_ a mess, Moe thought to himself, and his compulsion says clean him no matter what, but duty has a strong hold as well.

He spots the messy man just as he dashes across the deck and into the elevator with the Chief, the stewards, and the pod; disappearing behind the elevator doors.

After Moe watches him disappear- wait a sec, didn't he leave tracks? His neurosis nagged.

His electron microscan activates, you could see that unknown man's footprints from kilometers away in a spotless environment like this.

"Agh, Forthwrightdamnit!" he cursed, now he has to clean up his trail; but…what about where ever he is going? His mind calculates some of his speculations.

_"What if he was after that pod? If I go after him, I could get in serious trouble for following a secretive device, and not to mention leaving this dock."_

"_FOREIGN CONTAMINATION" _His visor breaks him away from thought. Actually, it gave him a thought.

Well, he would be cleaning dirt as far as it goes if he is ever caught outside of here. And it is his job to obliterate all unsterilized matter on this ship for health safety. In any sense, he's obeying protocol. But then he would have to face the wrath of Chief Gofer in that light after he was told not to differ from duty. He weighed his options, and made a decision.

He double checked if the other three have left to their stations. No one is paying attention, all is safe.

Moe jumps down to the deck, and begins to scrub away, from the tracks to wherever that man was following the Chief's tram and the pod.

"I wonder what's so important to him in that pod?" Moe asks himself.

* * *

**Hope this will be satisfying enough to hold onto til the next chapter. Read & Review, ask if you have any questions or answers.**


	14. Chapter 14: Welcome Aboard The Axiom

**Another juicy chapter for lenghty readers. I still obey the disclaimer.**

* * *

CHAPTER 14. WELCOME ABOARD THE _AXIOM_

Chief Gofer waits tensely as the elevator quickly passes deck after deck; but his mind was running a mile a minute, thinking of the importance of the pod's contents he's transporting and what's going to happen. He looks up at the elevator holoscreen; from docking that they left 13 levels below, the Main Deck was still 37 levels up, and the bridge was another kilometer forward through the deck. As much of a large-scaled technological wonder and achievement the _Axiom_ is; he hated having to travel so far, in a maze, especially to just relay something very vital to Command. And he's goanna have to go through passengers once he gets on deck, something not very well liked of by most of the crew. At least he has an independently running transporter tram, one that runs in its own directions instead of prelighted paths for the civilian hoverchairs; that sped things up a lot.

He glimpses a look behind him; he thought he heard a sound. There was nothing, just the obedient but oblivious stewards, standing at attention patiently waiting to transport the scout pod. He turns his attention back to the elevator door, he wished they were their by now already.

Wally hid behind the transport, behind the guards as the Chief looked back. The elevator ride was smooth and without a peep. Almost as quiet as travelling aboard the A.R.V. He could only hear his own breathing. He bet that these men had excellent attention spans, he could be found any moment. So he held his breath, trying not to expose himself, he prayed the elevator ride wouldn't last much longer. He looks away, inwardly sighing in relief.

Wally looked at the catatonic Eve through the chassis; still hiding behind the transport. Wally patted the side of the pod her head is on, like he was petting her, taking care of her.

"_It's going to be alright, Evah, I'm here." _He was chasing her without any foresight to whatever lies ahead. The way she is now, even at the hands of other humans, she seemed to be in some form of harm in his eyes, still frozen, and completely unsure what 'Code Green' means. Could it be that she is to be harmed? Taken away? Or any other way that could separate or end in pain for him and Eve?

The elevator doors open, drawing Wally's attention to the tram already moving out. It comes to a stop just outside the elevator; waiting for something. Wally risks a peek from the corner of Eve's pod to see a long passageway filled with things moving by at high speeds. -Wait, those things passing by are more humans! All of them are on trams just live Eve, all moving about at whiplashing speeds. They are crew; technicians, engineers, mechanics, welders, electricians, stewards, painters, cleaners, suppliers, and so on. The long sterile corridor is florescent lit and has outlined paths for the crew. There are about eight of them, four each going in opposite directions. It's a maintenance level in rush hour, everyone on their way to their directives throughout the ship.

Wally's neck gets sore from trying to process the fast-moving vehicles and humans inside them, fascinated by it all. He wonders how-in-Forthwright's-name is he goanna get through that with Eve as he looked at her. He only notices Eve's transport is gone.

"Aah!"

Adrenaline spikes in his mind as he realizes Gofer's tram has left, without him! He had to think quickly, her pod is moving fast and has only a split-second to figure out what next.

"Oooooh boy." He looks at the speeding traffic; he gulps at the thought of trying to go after her through here. The road is to narrow on the sidelines, he has to go _into_ the flow of traffic.

His heart is pounding in his head now, now he has put himself in danger and Eve is leaving again, he better move quick! He spots an opening between two passing hover trams, moving fast but far enough apart for Wally to jump through. At least he thinks so…

He times it carefully, too early or too late, he gets squashed or rammed over.

He makes his move, and jumps in between the passing vehicles.

"Whoa!" The driver of the hover tram stops suddenly.

'Crash!'

But only ends up causing the next tram to crash into him, and the next one to crash into that; Wally has created a pile up.

No one was hurt, but Wally almost killed himself and them there. He reassesses his surroundings. The maglev highway is too narrow for him to walk in between. If he can just climb onto one of those transports, it'd make his trip a lot easier. But he still has to move! Eve is getting farther and farther from him!

"_Ah, screw this." _Wally just rather jumps onto a vehicle to carry him there, not walk in between and harm anyone else.

A freight tam passes by and...

Wally is yanked off his feet as he grabs onto the passing tram. He felt like he had his arms ripped off, because it hurts to grab on like that. He collects his composure as he stands up on the freighter; the people driving haven't noticed him yet. As he looks ahead, there's an intersection coming, the paths split into other directions, Eve is going straight ahead, but his tram isn't! He'll have to jump onto another one. He needs to wait for another vehicle to pass his at just the right moment.

Wally jumps again…

He hits the side hard as he tried to board another freighter. He hits the ground, skidding to a halt. Wally winces and whines at the pain, he scrapped a good portion of skin off of his knees and elbows; and he has a newly forming bruise on the side of his head. The driver in the freighter shouts curses at Wally, but he doesn't care. Wally looks around, he notices his glasses have fallen off, he retrieves them before they got run over by the traffic. He puts hisglasses back and sees that he is right in the middle of the intersection, not standing on any of the lines, he's safe for now.

But the traffic is chaotic, all of the vehicles passing each other and missing each other by inches as they change directions. Now he can't remember where Eve went, Wally begins to panic at being lost.

In the direction that seems to go up a slope, there is a sign that reads: AFT MAINTANENCE CORRIDOR -To –AFT PASSENGER CORRIDOR, under it is a tram with a familiar cryopod in the distance!

"Evah!" Wally is so relieved and drawn, that he immediately runs through the passing intersection vehicles chasing after Eve. He was oblivious that the hover trams almost ran him over and the resulting pile up as they braked to stop.

Wally continued to run up the sloped passageway. Wally doesn't care to realize that the passageway he came from was not too narrow to run through anymore.

Wally reaches another set of hover lines. But they seemed different now. Instead of white lighted paths, their blue. Wally notices a strange looking hover vehicle in front of him. He runs up to see what it is.

The vehicle is a hover chair. And sitting in it… a creature. It's a big creature. A really REALLY BIG creature! Fat is actually a better word.

Wait a minute, Wally notices the tan skin, face, and features of a human body. The creature is actually a human!

This was certainly the fattest human Wally had every seen. It was a male BnL passenger; he looked like a giant human infant, looks like he weighs 450-500lbs. His skin was bloated like a blob, and soft to the touch like jello; he wore a red jumpsuit that bore a BnL logo. His arms and legs are short, and stubby, like they were never meant to be used for anything. "_Is it possible for humans to be like that?" _Wally wonders as he looks at this strange new being.

The man was reclined in the chair; the chair itself seemed automated, guiding itself along the blue-lighted maglev lines on the floor. A holoscreen seemed to be presented right in front of his face, and speakers were mounted on his headrest, blocking his peripheral vision, completely lost in his own sensual world. He is talking to someone on the screen.

"Look man, I've been in my cabin all morning, so why don't we say we hover over to the driving range and hit a few virtual balls into space?" the man sounded bored out of his mind.

"Nah, we did that yesterday I don't wanna do that." The man on the holoscreen complained.

"Well then what DO you want to do?"

Wally was lost looking at the man that he doesn't notice the exact man he's talking to is right next to him.

"I dunno, somethin'." Wally looks over his shoulder to finally see him, he is another BnL passenger also just as fat and baby-looking like the other man, and he too, lost in his own world of the hoverchair. Wally just looks at them, the two humans have no idea that they are within each other's presence.

"Huh" Wally slows down his pace as he reaches the entrance to the Main Deck; Wally merges in, and is struck with amazement.

The corridor is bustling with human activity. There must be hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of other humans everywhere.

They are ALL fat, in hoverchairs, with the same red jumpsuits, and holoscreens in their faces just the ones he saw a second ago. The floor is criss-crossed with hover lines. A maze of perplex directions of hover chairs. Wally's mind can't process all of them, moving in all directions, and talking nonstop.

Wally carefully makes his way past line after line of hoverchairs toward another concourse, until gets into the same direction of the traffic flow. He realizes that not one person has noticed him yet. Who couldn't? He remembers he is the skinniest and filthiest human on the _Axiom_, he can't be hard to find walking dirt against a sterile environment; not to mention comparing his skin and bones appearance, he really stuck out like a sore thumb. No, everyone remains oblivious to their surroundings; glued to their holoscreens, trapped in their own virtual realities. Each one of them had over-developed fingers tapping commands into their chair's armrest keypads. Wally sees one woman complaining she's hungry. Out of nowhere, a small hovering drinkbot arrives on demand, bringing an unbelievable large 3 Litter cup of a liquid food like substance, like a fast food kind; the pad just puts the cup in her open hand and she gulps it down. And she didn't move a muscle, if she had any.

Wally looks all the way around him again, they were all either ordering food, playing games, and chatting. Chatting, chatting, chatting, and ever more chatting! It's deafening and everywhere! People talking mindlessly to one another without moving, moving without any reason to; they all amaze and disgust Wally somehow, how can people live like this? As the ultimate example of couch potatoes.

Wally passes through another tunnel: AFT PASSAGER CORRIDOR -To - MAIN DECK. The lit end of the tunnel shines bright as Wally sees clearly before him, in complete awe, the Main Deck.

A feminine voice echoes throughout the vast open space, "_BUY N' LARGE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BE HAPPY. YOUR DAY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US!"_

It's a city-sized ultramall, a half metropolis/half consumer-goods shop inside a giant starship.

Living quarter rooms rise hundreds of floors up, and elevated hover lines move in all directions like freeways. In the distance, there are shopping centers shaped and sized like futuristic skyscrapers; all of them have endless holographic Buy N' Large advertisements on them, where the voice was directed for, as if to endlessly baragge people with its consumerism. And beyond that, was the sky? Impossible, he is in space. But Wally then notices the fake designed sun up above. It had a BnL logo (how appropriate) with the time and temperature on the face (12:16 PM/ 72˚ F). It's just an image projected on the inner dome of the _Axiom's_ hull; but it's high enough to be called the sky, it must be hundreds of meters high. The _Axiom_ feels A LOT bigger from the inside.

"Hey drinkbot!" Wally snaps back into reality when his senses register someone is addressing him.

A man to his left, in a hoverchair has hovered up to him and is trying to hand Wally his empty cup, still isn't aware that Wally isn't a drinkbot, nor of any surroundings like everyone else.

"Here, take the cup."

Wally backs away a bit, but the man asks again.

"I said: Take The Cup." He sounded like he is becoming slightly annoyed. He tries to reach out further to Wally, finally breaking his eyes from the holoscreen in front of him. "Uuh.." Wally tries to utter he isn't a bot. But the man presses on.

"Come On! Take The Cup!-Whoa!" He reaches out to far, and falls to the floor.

He is stuck on the floor, his baby legs and arms can't get him to move, and instead he can just flail his limbs like an upside down turtle. Wally grabs the drink out of his hand like he told, trying to at least do what he told him to do.

Red lines appear under Wally's feet, and immediately, two stewards brush past Wally, almost shoving him over to where the man has fallen.

The stewards then redirect the flow of stopped traffic around the man.

The man looks up at the stewards; they are just helping the other oblivious humans, not him. He tries to get the stewards attention.

"uh, stewards, hello? A little help? Please?"

One steward turns to the man on the floor, regarding him with an empathetic face. "Please remain stationary, sir, a service bot will be here to assist you shortly." He said in a practiced line.

"Uh, anybody? Help?" He tries to ask the crowd, but they are all to busy either ordering food, playing games, and chatting. Wally feels a ping of guilt for the man, he could've just taken his cup and he never would have forced himself to fall over. The two stewards, as broad and strapping as they were, aren't doing anything much other than making sure that these people get to their oh-so-important destinations on time. He must feel pretty embarrassed for causing their delays, and no one else is even offering to listen to the poor helpless man on the floor; they just inconsiderately pass him by. To correct his actions, Wally takes the matter into his own hands.

But not before Wally stuffs the jumbo size cup into his utility bag, out of his curiosity.

He picks up the man by the back. "Whoa!Wha- Whats going on?!" The man looks shocked.

Wally grunts as he strains against the man's weight, he's lifted heavy cubes before and developed a practiced lift, but not of this man's mass, likely 400lbs. But he manages to lift him high enough to drop him back onto his hoverchair, the man groans as he lands on his belly.

"Are you alright, sir?" Wally asks the fat man.

The fat man looks surprised as he sees Wally before him.

"Uuuuh…yeah…thanks." He replies. He had short blond hair, freckles, and brown eyes. And he clearly doesn't know how to respond to the dirty, rail thin man before him; like he's the strangest person he's ever seen.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Wally" he introduces himself, trying to shake his hand with him, its pretty awkward with his mechanical hand against his bulbous palm of a hand.

"Uh, I'm Jon"

He seemed confused, like he couldn't get his bearings; he must've been in a virtual stasis for a long time, isolated from the outside world like Eve.

**Eve!** It hit him like a ton of bricks; The awesome of the ship has made Wally almost completely forget he was searching for her!

"Evah?!" Wally blurts out, frantically scanning all directions for her.

"Uh, no, it's Jon." He thinks he misunderstood, but doesn't know about this 'Evah'.

Wally spots an open maglev monorail in the center of the deck lobby. Not that it was the only noticeable structure other than the thousands of identically dressed people, but the familiar pod attached to a tram boarding the monorail, with Gofer and his steward escort.

"Evah!"

Wally sprints after the monorail, already forgetting Jon, leaving him even more confused.

"Uh…bye, Wally." Jon shyly waves farewell.

_That was interesting._ Jon wonders if he will ever see that strange man again.

The monorail is about to depart, Wally guns it with whatever strength he has into his legs to make it!...

Just as the last car was about to pull out, Wally successfully leaps on, but ends up hitting his shin.

Wally now has more pain to wince at, but now he has also caught up with Eve. The monorail picks up incredible speed as it cruises down the central parts of the city-ship.

As the tram made its way down, Wally takes another minute to be left in wonderment at the scenery, it's a total blast in comparison to what he grew up in his whole life. He sees a day care center full of fat infants being taught by a robotic nanny; being fed treats and BnL predesigned education. They pass by a BnL food court, all of the people seemed to be preoccupied mostly by eating nonstop, or drinking, because they seemed to be eating and drinking 'lunch-in-a-cup' as the ship's computer voice says it is. He also notices that everyone had those large sized lunch-in-a-cup at hand, most preoccupied with eating, guess that explains the obesity. The tram passes a 'Feel Beautiful' beauty salon. Wally sees lots of female passengers entering to get their hair done, new make up, their skin tuned, etc by beauticians, who probably weren't paying attention to them. They remind him of the female characters in _Hello Dolly, _who worked and focused a lot on their physical appearance, in order to look attractive, or stylish. Only difference here is that they are just as glued to their holoscreens as much as everyone else. How paradox, they worry about prettier looks when they don't actually look at each other. Wally never understood any of it.

He doesn't understand anything here; this way of life that he couldn't possibly imagine.

Everything was so bright and clean, the sterilized air far from the toxic but accustomed stench of garbage and rot he grew up in. It tingled his tainted lungs to breathe in and out of this pollutant-free environment. The whole ship full of humans felt alive, the sounds of music and cheerful voices he's never heard before, nothing like the cries and screams of workers dying or begging for mercy. No, here it was booming with life, peaceful, but alluring with pointless luxuries. So much so the happy noises were deafening to him, his ears sensitive after spending decades in perpetual silence.

Nothing like Earth, this was actual civilization.

Wally's attention is drawn to the many jumpsuit fashion holo-Ads, the ship's voice comes on.

"_ATTENTION _AXIOM_ SHOPPERS, TRY BLUE, IT'S THE NEW RED."_

"Oooo…" The passengers next him actually notice something out of their holoscreens. Then they just push a command on their chair's keypad and all of their red colored jumpsuits turn blue. They go back to chatting, as if nothing happened.

"Whoa" Wally is fascinated by how much technology has changed these people, just having to lift a finger to get what they want.

When he turns his sites to the front end of the monorail, he can see Eve's tram, he makes his way over to her. But another obese human blocks his way, a red haired woman busy chatting on her holoscreen. Wally tries to squeeze through to the other side, if he could just…

The woman's chair backs up, pinning him to the wall.

"Ah!" Wally flails his arms as he tries to slip out.

His head is sore, and there's not enough room to go around the woman, he'll have to get her to move. But she's too busy to care to notice who's around her.

"Date? (scoff) Don't get me started on the date. Every holo-date I have been on has been a _virtual_ disaster!..."

"Excuse me ma'am?" Wally tries to get her attention, she's still oblivious.

"…If I could just meet one, one who wasn't so…superficial."

"Ma'am?" Wally taps on her headset, she still doesn't acknowledge him.

"I mean, there are no good men out there!"

"Ma'am?!" Wally voices louder and tap harder. He tries to pull off her headset.

"I Know! I know because I scrolled through them all- " her headset shortens out as Wally accidentally breaks it off. "What The?!" She gasps, her holoscreen flicker off and her jumpsuit color defaults to red. Wally backs away, as if he did something terribly wrong enough to feel her wrath.

But she doesn't yell at Wally, she _still_ doesn't notice him yet. Her green eyes are a bit contracted as she takes in the light and try to focus on the far away structures of the main deck. When her vision clears, she is mesmerized by looking at the passing cityscape of the _Axiom_, like she's seeing the outside world for the first time.

"Uuuh…Excuse me? Ma'am?" Wally whistles to get her attention.

"Huh?" Her eyes meet Wally's. She's just as confused as the fat man, Jon; unsure of what to say at this weird man.

"Uuh…Can I move to the other side? Please?" Wally asks politely, pointing towards Eve.

The woman looks at him for a second, still fazed by how dirty he looks until she follows his finger to the other side of her chair, to the vacant spot next to a cylinder mounted on a tram. She slowly realized he was asking her to move back a little bit.

"Oh! Oh, um, sure, go ahead!" The woman commands her seat to hover back as Wally gets through.

"Ah, thank you, miss…?"

"Mary" the woman introduces herself.

"Wally" he gestures to himself as he waves goodbye to Mary as he makes the last few steps to Eve's pod.

Wally sighs in relief that he is back with her, after losing her and roaming the massive ship.

He climbs onto the back of the tram; Gofer shouldn't be able to see him, as long as Wally doesn't have to run after them again. He clings onto the pod protectively, not wanting to go through so many distractions and misadventures again.

* * *

**Took a while to figure how to describe everything, but hey, thats whats part of writing. R&R.**


	15. Chapter 15: Bridge Lobby

**Probrably the shortest chapter yet, but i'm trying to make 'em long enough to read, still in the flow of chapters in the dvd. Disclaimer: you already know it so i won't bother, i still don't own rights.**

* * *

CHAPTER 15. BRIDGE LOBBY

The monorail passes through another tunnel under a holo-sign: MAIN DECK – To – LIDO DECK.

This deck is a massive artificial paradise. With hundreds of floors of beach house styled living quarters in a ring surrounding a vast circular swimming pool, and adjacent spas and holographic palm trees all around it. There are hundreds of other passengers here, but none of them are in the water. All of them are poolside, under umbrellas with their food-drink cups, still hypnotized to their holoscreen chairs.

"_Figures"_, Wally wonders if everyone must be that lazy or brain-dead.

The monorail comes to a stop in the front of the Lido Deck where there's a large BnL logo on the floor, and an entrance to the 'Bridge Lobby'. Wally looks up from the entrance to see a towering spire. At the top was a windowed observation deck built into the ceiling, it must be where they're going.

Eve's tram gets off towards the entrance, with Wally staying out of Chief Gofer's site, wondering what's going to be up there.

Meanwhile, Mary and the other passengers leave the monorail. The other passengers go about their business on their path lines with Mary still taking in her surroundings. She moves about freely, fascinated at everything she sees of the massive ship.

She gasps as she oversees the Lido Deck.

"I didn't know we had a pool!"

* * *

Eve's tram enters a vast hall, in the base of the control center spire. It's mostly empty, except for a single receptionist desk in front of the elevator to the Bridge. It was guarded by an impenetrable blue force field with holographic letters scrolled over it reading: BRIDGE ACCESS- AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

The tram stops in front of the desk; Wally still remains hidden, but risks a look over the pod to see why they have stopped.

At the desk was a woman, she had red hair and she was skinny like Eve, but she wore a white BnL Navy uniform. She is typing on a translucent keyboard onto her holoscreen, her fingers moving at impossible speed, filling out entire reports in just seconds.

Chief Gofer coughs to get her attention, but she seemed lost in her virtual screen before her, and her eyes seemed bogged down and sleep deprived like she's been doing this task for a long time.

"Excuse me." Gofer gets a little impatient.

She unglues her sight from her screen, finally stopped typing when she realizes who was addressing her.

"Oh! My apologies Master Chief Gofer, Sir! What can I do for you, sir?" She salutes him, but he gets straight to it.

"I need to get to the Bridge, it's urgent."

The typist looks at the pod questioningly.

"May I ask why, sir?" she asks kindly while still at attention.

"That's classified; I'm under orders from Commander Auto to report to him immediately."

"I understand, Sir, but I am required to ask for authoriza-"

"I said I was ordered to report to the Bridge by the First Officer immediately, and that means now!" Gofer orders her to let him pass, the typist is just doing her job, but his is far more important.

"Yessir" The typist punches in a command and the security field guarding the elevator deactivates. Gofer just drives the tram right past her and into the elevator.

The typist was just about to return to her original duty when she notices someone clinging to the back of the tram.

"Huh?" She looks at the spectacled dirty man puzzled; she's never seen anybody like him before.

"Hello" Wally says quietly. As nice and friendly as ever, he waves at her; she didn't seem like much of someone to be afraid of besides Gofer.

The typist is baffled, unsure of how to respond at this unfamiliar person. But before she could, the elevator doors close as it rises toward the Bridge.

"Huh, weird" She says to herself. Out of the ordinary indeed, _but far better than being ordered at by the Chief_, she thinks to herself.

* * *

**Alright, next new characters: Auto & The Capt'n!**

**Just so you know, i will be away for thanxgiving; don't worry, i will still have access to a computer. **

**however i recommend all fellow fanfic reader/writers to take some time off from our screens and spend family time stuffing our faces with turkey and pumpkin pie!**


	16. Chapter 16: Captain on Deck!

**Alrity! Now that i have my Thanxgiving stuffed belly, i can get back to work; and i hope all of my readers had a great holiday as well. And its been over a month since the story was first published! huray! About half-way through the story in accordance with the film's running time. And to make up for the short last chapter.**

**This is by far the longest chapter I've written, yet; makes a nice long read for a boring Friday or Saturday evening. Ever since i came up with the story itself and the design of the human characteristics of Wally, i had ALOT of fun trying to create the human Auto. **

**Also, i want to thank all of those who have sent their reviews, they have been very generous and they kept me going to please everyone who loves Wall-E as much as i do. I swear on my life i will finish this story to the end.**

**Is still follow the disclaimer rules.**

**And so, without anymore of my babbling, here is:**

* * *

CHAPTER 16. CAPTAIN ON DECK

50 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters; the transparent elevator rose higher and higher. Wally was on the side facing the Lido Deck. The view is great, the higher they go, the more the inside of the ship they could see, from the base of the lobby to the rear of the Main Deck. Wally had forgotten to tense up whenever it came to heights at the moment. Unlike working on top of the trash towers on Earth, the elevator had hardened glass to prevent him from falling, and the spectacular site of the deck has lured him away from his acrophobia.

Suddenly the view goes dark; they must have reached the top of the tower. The elevator doors open, and the tram slowly hovers into the Bridge.

The large, air-conditioned circular room was dimly lit, the elevator rose from the center of it. One side of the Bridge was a wide glass window facing out into space; the other side was also a vast viewport, and it was overlooking the bright interior of the _Axiom_, you could see the entire inside of the ship from up there. Wally looks around; the surfaces of everything were clean and polished, hundreds of multicolored control consoles surrounded the walls in a large circle. Dials, gauges, charts, readouts, screens, buttons, switches, lights, beeps, and sound everywhere; but it was all very dim and very quiet, a soothing atmosphere.

Something catches Wally's eye, or rather, someone.

A sole figure manned the helm, facing away from them out into the blackness of space, steering the ship.

The tram stops, Chief Gofer standing at attention.

"Master Chief Gofer reporting, Sir!" He salutes the man who is slowly turning around to face them.

* * *

Auto, the First Officer of the _Axiom._

He stood 6ft 4in tall, he looked to be in his mid 30s; he had a strong, lean built body. He wore a flawlessly pressed white BnL naval officer's uniform with a black tie and gloss black shining uniform dress shoes; he was spotlessly clean, not a single speck of dust or lint on him. His broad shoulders bore the gold star and bar ranking insignia of Commander. He wore an embellished BnL naval cap to go with his uniform; his jet black hair was combed neatly across his scalp and slicked down with a waxy cream. He had a charming, clean shaven pale face; his eyes were gun metal gray; his inexpressive eyes reminded Wally of Eve's combat stare whenever she tried to shot him, but this is Auto's natural look: empathetic. A pink scar ran over his right eye, a faint red dot can be seen within its pupil; it's a prosthetic eye, a realistic looking prosthetic eye.

Unlike Wally who is feral, messy, physically clumsy, but adorably lovable; Auto is strappingly handsome looking, professional & discipline-minded, but intimidating. They are polar opposites of each other.

He strolls over to the tram with his perfectly straight posture, he walks with a military officer's pace stick, and it was metallic and had tiny buttons along the grip.

"I've brought the scout as you requested, Commander." Gofer still stands at attention as Auto just focuses on Eve's pod.

"I see." His voice was deeply monotonous and unemotional much like his eyes; his sound unnerved Wally, he sneaks away from the tram as Auto approaches.

"Are you positive this reconnaissance cryogenic pod registers a legitimate finding of a specimen?" He asked.

"Affirmative, I initially believed it to be a malfunction, but their systems never had problems, so I assumed it to be an actual find." Gofer replies.

"You cannot presume these cryopod's subroutines are not prone to defect, Master Chief; therefore that's the reason I ordered you to bring it here for further verification."

"Understood, Sir." Gofer nervously replies as Auto retrieves his own security chip from his pocket, and inserts it into Eve's pod.

A few seconds pass as his advanced analysis chip scans and double-triple check the pod's systems. It pings positive; Auto's eyes still remain unemotional even as they widen in realization, the rest of him freezes.

"It's confirmed, the finding is authentic. Scout 1 has indeed retrieved a live photosynthetic organism." he said flatly.

"If that's true, then…that means…" Gofer trails off, his voice down to a whisper.

"Affirmative." Auto cuts him off, his voice too as quiet. "It means we must initiate Directive _Alpha 1-1-3._"

* * *

Wally watches the exchange between the two from the far end of the room. They have lowered their voices, but he guessed it must have been very important, and secret.

"…then you know what we must do…" Is all that he could clear make out from their hushed voices. Until Auto return's his to normal volume. "I will notify the Captain."

Wally panics when the tall man heads in his direction.

His mind went blank for a second not knowing what to do; until he retreats back into a small circular enclosing space. The doors close all of a sudden, and he feels a descending feeling, he realizes he is in another elevator. He's astonished and relieved he inadvertently didn't get caught eavesdropping in a place he doesn't belong.

The doors open up again to reveal a darkened room. Wally quietly makes his way out and into the room, trying to get his bearings. He hears a snoring sound coming from somewhere in the darkness. Someone must be sleeping in here. Wally's mind races again when he tries to find another way out before-

Auto's voice comes over the room's P.A. system.

"_Captain, this is the Commander, I apologize for disturbing you sir, but a situation of utmost priority has arisen and you are needed on the Bridge As Soon As Possible, Sir. Auto out."_

Wally freezes in his tracks; was he about to get caught?

The room's lights turn on slowly, and dimly; one viewport looked out into space, and another one to the deck, but that window has polarized, darkened for a sleeping environment.

The room is all nautical themed with models of starships, pictures & paintings of ancient human sea-going ships and spacecraft, BnL Navy flags, and celestial charts. Whoever lives here must have been an important crewmember.

Wally sees a row of holographic portraits on the wall. Each person in the pictures wore the same BnL naval officer's uniform, with the rank of Captain. Each had a plaque with their names and years of service. But starting from the first Captain, who was the same one Wally has seen in the _Axiom_ holo-Ad, '_Captain Reardon 2105 – 2248'._ Wally's sites scroll over each newer Captain, who were fatter than the last, showing the devolution of humanity.

An alarm buzzer sounds and the window depolarizes, flooding the room with light. Wally turns to see a fat man right in front of him, snoring on his bed.

This blob of a human had short crewcut dark hair, thick eyebrows, and is so fat his chin and neck disappear into his torso; he looked to be late 40s. Unlike the rest of the passengers, he wore a white BnL jumpsuit. But he too had a hoverchair to move around in, this one had no holoscreen though, and it could fold into a bed.

Wait a sec, Wally looks at the sixth and final portrait: '_Captain B. McCrea 2775 - *'. _The exact same face, "_this fat man is the Captain?!"_ Wally looks at him in bafflement.

He stirs, his sleep disturbed by the alarm, it's only 12:25 PM though, must have slept in.

He subconsciously reaches out to snooze the alarm, talking in his sleep.

Only a foot away from the awakening Captain, Wally tries to back away.

Too late, the Captain accidental slaps the side of Wally where his cassette player is strapped, activating it.

"…_Put On Your Sunday Clothes, There's Lots Of World Out There!..."_ The player plays its tunes at max volume.

"AH! ALL HANDS ON DECK!" The Captain shoots straight up in his sleep, falling back down.

"_Crap, Crap, Crap! I Gotta Turn It Off! Turn It Off!"_ Wally panics, he turns off his player, but the Captain must know he's here.

His chair rises into a sitting position; Crap, Wally thinks he had been caught, shrinking down preparing for the worst.

But suddenly, two robotic arms appear out of the cabinets behind the hoverchair. A beautician unit and a messaging unit; they both begin brushing his teeth, trimming his hair, patting down his back, even dressing him.

The Captain is still dozed, struggling to open his sleepy hazel eyes, but is probably aware of being prepped. Wally looks at the Captains toes; they look like tiny blobby appendages, and tries to message them in order to not alert him to his presence. The Captain giggles to the tickling of his toes. He is now fully prepped and dressed; he has the same Captain's uniform and embellished cap like the others. But the uniform is so tiny on him it's only draped over his shoulders, with only one button at the middle to fit his overly large neck_. _

A lighted path appears on the floor as his chair hovers toward the elevator Wally entered from. Wally dashes behind the Captain's chair when he yawns, taking the chance not to be found.

The doors close and open again as they reappear on the Bridge.

The Captain, still slowly waking up, claps his hand twice. The whole bridge responds with a coffee maker appearing out of a console pouring a fresh cup, Johan Strauss II classical music softly playing over the sound system, and his chair's command paths highlight the floor.

"Captain on deck!" Commander Auto and Chief Gofer stand at attention and salute, but the Captain is too sleepy to respond as he hovers his way to the nearest source of caffeine.

Auto attempts to brief the Captain. "Sir-"

"Coffee" He cuts Auto off.

He waits patiently behind the Captain as he takes his time to grab his cup, he makes no effort and just has his chair push him up to get it, even the highest of commanding humans have become lazy.

"Sir, the annual-" Auto is cut off again by the Captain giving him the hand.

He's too busy savoring the taste of his coffee; he needs this stimulant to do a boring routine, because he's been doing this job for a long, long time.

"Protocol, Auto, first things first."

And boredom alone is all it takes for him to fall asleep, and it had to be done.

"Understood, sir." Auto showed no signs of being in a hurry, but then again, he never shows anything.

"Computer! Status report!" The Captains says aloud to the room; in an instant, his hoverchair whooshes over to a row of consoles, specifically those concerning the conditions of the _Axiom_.

His chair slowly and automatically scrolls along the holographic monitoring panels; he brings the ship's A.I. up online to relay him any new information.

"Mechanical systems?"

"_UNCHANGED – NO MALFUNCTIONS SQUAWKED"_

"Reactor core temperature?"

"_UNCHANGED – FUSION DRIVE WITHIN POWER LIMITS"_

"Passenger count?"

"_UNCHANGED – 1,550,000 SOULS ABOARD, NO BIRTHS OR DEATHS REPORTED"_

"Regenerative food supply?"

"_UNCHANGED – ARTIFICIAL ORGANIC CROPS AT CAPACITY"_

"Jacuzzi pH Balance?"

"_UNCHANGED – ALL SPAS INDICATE pH at 7.0"…_

Meanwhile, Wally stayed hidden in the elevator, since everyone will be busy on the consoles and this is where he will be least likely to be found, at the moment. He eyes Eve's pod at the other end, Gofer was turned away and Auto was following the Captain; Wally tries to formulate a way to get to her.

… "Atmospheric conditions?"

"_UNCHANGED – 77% NITROGEN, 23% O2, FULLY PRESSURIZED"_

"And laundry service volume?"

"_UNCHANGED – NANOFABRIC JUMPSUIT STERILIZATION FLOWING NORMALLY"_

The Captain's chair stops at the end of the system's panel, all of them are working perfectly. Of course, on this ship, nothing changes. Hardly anything ever breaks or is need of repair or replacement. Everything is state-of-the-art, remotely kept in top notch condition for prolong journeys in space. But that bogged down the Captain a lot, everyday would be like this, and there's nothing to do but live in excessive luxury, then again, there isn't anything else.

Auto brings up another screen, displaying the Axiom Reconnaissance Vehicle scout's data, one of them (Eve) is glowing green, positive. He stands at attention awaiting the Captain to finish.

"Okay, Auto, all systems check out green. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes sir, the annual terrestrial vegetation reconnaissance has –"

The Captain fails to notice Auto's statement as he is drawn to one screen displaying the time.

"12:30?!" He's wide awake now that he realizes its past due to publicly address the ship.

"Auto, why didn't you wake me for morning announcements?"

"Forgive me, Sir, but you insisted to sle-"

Before Auto can respond further, the Captain has already shot across the bridge to side facing the ship's interior. He taps a large dial indicating time of day; he swings it over from _12:30 PM_ to _9:30 AM_. Out in the main deck, the entire ship responds with the artificial sun moving at high speed from mid-day to sunrise, food kiosks changing stocks from lunch to breakfast, all hoverchair traffic and entertainment activities coming to a halt.

"Honestly, it's the one thing I get to do on this ship."

The Captain sounds the announcement blow whistle that resonates throughout the ship, and a live fiber optic video feed broadcasts him on everyone's holoscreens, even the holo-Ads and the ceiling turns into a broadcasted video feed. He begins his routine announcement.

"_**Well, good morning everybody, this is your good ol' Captain McCrea speaking, and would like to welcome you to day 255,642 aboard the **_**BnLS Axiom**_**. As always, the weather is a balmy 72 degrees and sunny, and uh-"**_

He notices the recorded date on the ship's Earth-time based chronometer, it reads: _1231:16 hours, JUNE 27th, 2805_; exactly 700 years, 0 months, 0 days, 0 hours, 31 minutes, and 16 seconds since the ship launched.

"_**Oh, hey, I see that the ship's log is showing that today is June 27th, 2805, our 700th anniversary of our five year cruise! Well, I'm sure our forefathers will be proud to know that 7 centuries later we'd be…"**_

Just another pointless day, he wonders to himself; even everyone on board was thinking the same thing.

"…_**doing the exact same thing…they were doing…"**_

But it's worth mentioning. He snaps back into a welcoming mood.

"_**So! Be sure next mealtime to ask for your free…"**_

Great, now he can't even say the work correctly, but his screen brings up the pronunciation feature, but it's still tricky for him to get it right even as he tried it.

"…_**Sep-tu-a-cen-ten-ial cupcake, in a cup! Wow, look at that! Also, today we have a-" **_

The Captain is drawn away from his broadcast, when an unknown button flashes on his console. It's green, looks like it hasn't been pressed ever, and has the same plant icon as Eve's beacon.

The Captain switches off the broadcast, the passengers look a bit confused, but go about their business.

_This is interesting_; he doesn't recall being any function like this on the control panel.

"Um, Auto, what's that flashing button?"

Auto saluted the Captain, who was waiting patiently as always.

"Sir! It was just the matter I was about to address, sir; for it concerns with the protocol of the annual Extraterrestrial Vegetation Reconnaissance. That device, there, activates the systematic procedures upon the event one of our scouts discovers and returns with a live specimen of biological life forms."

Auto notions to Eve's pod, he deactivates the energy binders holding it in place with the tram; and pulls out his data-pad with Eve's recon findings. The Captain is dumbfounded that he didn't know it was on the Bridge.

"What's _that_ doing here?" the Captain points at it.

"It is E.V.R.E. Scout 1's exoplanetary cryopod, Sir. Scout 1 was sent to Earth, assigned to an overlooked region for the quinquennial evaluation; our long range sensors have detected its subspace beacon and the Return Vehicle has brought her back. And most importantly, you're not going to believe this sir, but…Scout 1 has returned with a positive finding of photosynthetic life."

The Captain's senses are now wide awake at the sound of those words.

"Positive?" He never thought any life was found on Earth, or any compatible planet; but it somehow told him it was to be true, but he couldn't help but deny it.

"Impossible…" the Captain whispers in doubt.

"Yes sir, we initially believed this report to be an error, we've already cross-referenced the pod's network for any subroutine defects. But our diagnostics have found no evidence of system flaws whatsoever. The scout has indeed found a live biological."

"Are you sure?" The Captain asks.

Auto types in the code to the pod's holographic keypad.

"Well, Sir, let's ask her ourselves."

Auto punches in the last digit, the pod hisses open.

Inside, Eve slowly reanimates and regains consciousness.

* * *

Wally's heart skipped a beat. Two beats. His eyes widen with pure joy for the first time ever since he last laid eyes on this white angel back on Earth. Eve has reawakened!

"Evah!..."

He no longer cares about being spotted in the elevator anymore; after weeks of seeing her lifelessly frozen, he had almost forgotten what it was like to see her alive and beautiful for real. He is just too compelled to look at her, so he quietly makes his way behind the central elevator to get closer to them; now at least he can clearly hear what their saying.

Eve stirred and rose from stasis in just a few seconds. Her eyesight returned quickly, and so did her disciplinary instincts when she recognizes her superior officers around her.

"2nd Lieutenant Eve of Vegetation Recon reporting, Sir!"

She instantly stood from still unfreezing to attention, saluting the Captain and Commander. She coughed out cryogenic residue from her lungs so see could breathe normally again.

"At ease, lieutenant; how do you feel?" the Captain asks.

"(cough) I'm feeling alright, Sir." As she regains her composure, she looks all around her.

"Where am I?"

"Back on board the _Axiom_, the A.R.V. retrieved you after we intercepted your pod's distress signal, activated via your neural implants upon the discovery of any life you may have found. And as unlikely as statistics allow, it appears you have found positive plant life on Terra-3 of Sol." Auto said.

Eve tries to think and relay all the information, _'Terra-3, Sol; 3rd terrestrial planet of the Sol System, aka: Earth.'_

Her memory is still coming back to her in fragments; a side-effect of the unfreezing process.

"Yes…yes, my assigned directive _Alpha One dash Zero One_ was to Earth, specifically _Sector NA-001_. North America – City 001, formerly known as New York."

"The capital city of the Buy N' Large government?" the Captain asks.

Eve joggles through her flashbacks to deliver her official report, the Captain listens intently.

"Affirmative, I was assigned this area because it was often disregarded to find any life near where our civilization last looked back to see anything besides the trash-barren lands. I even inspected the _Axiom's _launch site; all of it is as structurally intact as it was when the last of humanity left Earth in 2105. But anyway, I believe it was within a week of my search, I came into contact with a seed-ling plant somewhere in the 'Hudson Bay'. I inspected it and bio-analysis clearly checks it out as a plant that processes photosynthesis of CO2 and oxygen for breathable air. "

The Captain presses on for answers behind where she was sent.

"But why search the very center of the planet's most heavily polluted area? After all, the capital is where the trash crisis all started."

"Well we have not surveyed the area over the last several decades, sir; and conditions do change in that kind of time period. Of all the other sectors my fellow scouts believed likely to find anything compatible, from Brazil, to Siberia, or Canada; I thought it was most likely to find things in places overlooked, mostly trashed cities or former population centers other than open spaces of deserts or tundras."

The Captain takes in the info, the realization sinking in.

"So your official conclusion means the complete survey is a success, and the planet can support complex life?"

"The planet's environmental condition is still poor overall, but it's technically habitable."

The last word 'habitable' hung in the Captain's head.

"And you are absolutely sure of this?" The Captain asks for a final answer.

"Yes, sir, that is my official report. I even have the specimen in my container with me, its solid proof that as of now, planet Earth is once again a life bearable world."

A few seconds pass before Auto responds. "I concur with the lieutenant's statement, Captain."

"As do I, Sir." Gofer replies as well.

'_Yes!_' Eve triumphantly thinks to herself. At last something worthy and important finally! And her second directive, _A1-02_ was accomplished, only one more to fulfill!

The Captain remains silent, half-shocked/half-unsure. He looks back down on the flashing green button.

"But…no scout's ever come back positive…before…"

"Well, I have now, sir." Eve replies in a proud tone.

Auto steps forward. "Sir, I can reassure you that you no doubtingly know what this means and what needs to be done at this point…" He eyes the same button as the Captain. "…but the decision to proceed is up to you."

The Captain realizes the significance of this event. One he was briefly told of by the previous Captain, one thing he believed he would never live to witness: the time humanity, after 700 years of safe and sound sailing in outer space, will come to an end; the day they set foot planetside. But though he hated routine and boredom, it felt safe; leaving to an unclean planet without the sterile luxuries felt too dangerous.

But as Captain, he has procedures to follow in order to do what has to be done.

He scans his thumbprint for the green button's biometric scan, and pushes the button.

An alarm sounds in the Bridge, The Captain almost falls out of his chair and Wally almost yelps loud enough to give away his position. Then, blast doors and metallic shades close all the windows, darkening the room.

A holoscreen appears before the helm, the _Buy N' Large jingle_ flicks on:

_- ROOM SECURE, COMMENCING TRANSMISSION - _

The screen changes to a man in a fine business suit standing before a presidential podium. His unmistakable overly optimistic express said it all for who he is.

The late Shelby Forthwright, CEO of BnL.

"_Greetings! And congratulations, Captain. If you are watching this message, that means your E.V.R.E. scout, or 'Extraterrestrial Vegetation Reconnaissance and Evaluation' scout, has returned from planet Earth with a confirmed specimen of ongoing photosynthesis. That's right! It means it's time to go back home!"_

"Home?! We-we're going back?"

The Captain's worst fear has just been said aloud by the CEO himself, they are going back to Earth, no more _Axiom_.

Everyone in the room is drawn to the prerecorded message.

Except Wally, he sees a window of opportunity to make his way over to Eve while everyone is distracted.

"_Thanks to the hard-worked efforts that our company's workforce made here for 'Operation Cleanup', our homeworld has been successfully restored to a life sustaining status. And by golly, that means we can initiate 'Operation Recolonize'. _

Wally freezes when a sound comes from the console he was hiding under, the Captain and Auto's attention were drawn to it and head over his way, did he trip a wire? Strangely, nothing happens. Wally sticks his head out for a peak. The Captain and Auto picked up a red book that emerged from a sealed storage console. It looked old, and was never opened before. The Captain blows away the dusty exterior of the book to reveal an operation manual for the recolonization of Earth.

Wally and the Captain watch the screen as a simplistic step by step animated illustration appears for placing a plant into rising device that leads the ship to Earth.

"_Just simply follow this manual's instructions to place your retrieved specimen, into your ship's holo-detector, and the –_Axiom- _will immediately navigate your return to Earth; it's that easy!"_

"Huh" the Captain and Wally utter simultaneously, it seemed _**very**_ easy.

The Captain, Auto, and Gofer have their backs to Wally as they watch the presentation and message. Wally looks over to Eve, who is standing by herself in the back corner of the bridge. The stewards have already left the Bridge; now is his chance, he sneaks his way to Eve.

...

"…_Now due to the effects of microgravity, you and your passengers may have suffered some 'osteoporosis', or in medical terms: 'slight bone loss'." _The CEO chuckles at the illustration of the degraded human body in zero gravity. If he saw what the people of the _Axiom_ has become though.

"_But I'm sure a few laps around the ship's jogging track will get you back in shape in no time..."_

The Captain stares at his short chubby appendages for legs; he can barely lift his own foot.

"We have a jogging track?" He asks Auto.

"Yes, sir, but no one has used it ever and have been retrofitted for E.V.R.E. training purposes."

"Oh"

"…_And if you have any further questions, just consult your operation manual. On behalf of Buy N' Large, your world's greatest and only Superstore, this CEO Shelby Forthwright, signing off; see you back home real soon!"_

_- END TRANSMISSION -_

The Captain and Auto stare at the book in hand, he reads the cover.

"Op-er-ate, Man-well." The Captain miserably mispronounces the operation manual.

"It's 'Operation Manual',Sir." Auto corrects him; at least he had Auto to help.

Now it was up to them to take the colonization of the ship to Earth into their hands.

"Best get started, I guess." The Captain holds out the book, and speaks into it aloud, thinking it to be voice activated.

"Manual, relay instructions!"

Nothing.

"Manual?" The Captain scrutinizes the book closely for anything to turn it on.

Auto awaits patiently and inexpressively, but he couldn't help but think that humanity has fallen so far that even superior officers couldn't read properly and can't even know a book when they see one.

"Allow me, Captain." Auto interjects the Captain's fiddling and simply pulls open the hardcover page. He steps back with his arms behind his back when he's done.

The Captain responses fascinated, he's never seen a book before.

"Wow! Would you look at that, paper that can hold and relay information. Genius!"

This recolonization thing is going to take awhile.

* * *

Eve stands eagerly at the corner of the Bridge, awaiting for what her superiors will have in store for her when they need to carry out the task of getting back to Earth.

While she waits, she tries to recollect more of her foggy memories of her trip, its coming back in pieces; her mind was frozen along with her body.

She slowly remembers the emotions running through her when she went joy-flying around the clouds, destroying a ship in anger, finding the plant, and in the home of… Her mind struggles to remember the man she met. The surviving cleanup worker who followed her around, whom she almost killed by blowing him to smithereens and sent him flying through a wall…

Wally! That's his name.

Eve remembers meeting that poor gentleman who was stuck on that planet, working and surviving it his whole life; and he barely survived her jumpiness just to get a glimpse of her. She remembers he gave her shelter from a deadly sandstorm, showed her his prized but sole possessions. And there was something odd about that man, and what she thought of him. He seemed to look at her in ways that made her wonder what's going on in his mind, about what he sees in her. The last thing she remembers is freezing up after she took the plant from him. It must have been at least 3 weeks since then, she wonders what he is doing right now…

A tap on her shoulder drew her out of train of thought. She looks over to see a familiar face of a filthy cleanup worker.

"Not now, Wally."

She tries to remember what she was think— 'WAIT!! WALLY?!?!?!!?'

Her mind blew a fuse and her heart stopped altogether.

"Hello, Evah." Wally waves with a smile, he's too happy to see her again.

Eve however is too slack-jawed in shock and disbelief to answer.

"Evah?" Wally asks again, her eyes looked fully contracted in sudden shock.

Seconds seem like minutes when he waits for her to answer.

Finally, her mind speaks its only thought.

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"** half whispering/half yelling at Wally.

Before Wally could answer, Eve hushed him and shoved him under a darkened console as fast as she can.

"Evah? What are yo-" Eve grabbed his mouth, muffling his speech. She frantically checks to see Chief Gofer isn't paying attention to them.

She turns back to Wally. "Wally, what are you doing here? How did you get here?!" whispering as loud as she can.

Wally tires to explain behind her grip over his muffled mouth, but she goes on.

"You can't even be here! Do you have any idea what they will do to me? Or to you, if you get caught?! I'm going to get in so much trouble…"

Wally, however, wasn't paying attention to her words; he was listening to her voice. Even if she is surprised and upset, her voice was the most beautiful sound to listen to. He eyed her dreamily as she ranted about how much trouble they're going to get in. He had missed her so dearly during her suspended animation.

...

"Okay, Eve, lets take a look." The Captain called from across the Bridge, he and Auto were still reading the book.

'Gasp' Eve snapped around instantly at the mention of her name and the very thing she was waiting for a minute ago. But before she did, she kicked Wally as far as she could under the console for him to stay hidden.

The Captain reads aloud the procedures, finally being able to decipher the simple pages.

"Let's see here, step one – voice command to ship's computer: 'Confirm acquisition.'"

"_CONFIRM ACQUISITION" _The computer repeats.

Having heard that, the bridge springs to activity. Green lights illuminate the ceiling, at the center of the lights, a cylindrical device emerges. It's blue lights scan the bridge in a 360 degree rotation until it locks onto Eve's sample container.

Then the device maneuvers its way over to Eve on ceiling tracks. Positioning itself over her, mechanical arms reach out from the device and snatch the container from the surprised Eve. Then another arm reaches out to an equally baffled Captain. It's an audio activation receiver.

"_VOCAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED."_

"Uuh..." Is his only response to such confusion.

"_Uuh..."_ it repeats his response. _"PATTERN IDENTIFIED: McCREA, BENJAMIN H. CAPTAIN, _BnLS AXIOM; _AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED."_

Another arm lowers from the device, pressing a sequence of codes into the container. The Captain winches behind the manual held up to cover his eyes, Wally peeks from the console, even Auto and Gopher await a look, everyone on the Bridge braces themselves for whatever is inside.

The container's top opens to reveal...

...nothing inside of it.

"HUH?!" Eve is more shocked to see it empty.

"huh?" The Captain looks even more confused. "Where's the thingie?"

"Plant, Sir." Auto corrects him.

The Captain opens the book, unintelligibly searching through it for an answer. "Plant, right, right. W-Where is it?"

They search through the book, the Captain believing they missed a step in a 1 step procedure.

With their backs turned, Eve looks around for it with her mind racing in confusion. Did it fall out? No, these containers are sealed like safes. She thinks again. Someone must have removed it, but it was in her pod with her; and no one has seen the plant but her. The only person who possibly could've...

She stops for a second, remembering something; her thoughts turn from confusion to anger. Specifically aimed at the only other person who saw the plant before she came back to the ship...

"Wally!!"

She turns on him, grabbing him by his collar and yanking him out from under the console.

Wally is frightened with Eve turning against him suddenly, and now she's hurting him, looking for something.

"Where is it? Where is it?!" She searches his utility bag, oddly finding just a jumbo size lunch-in-a-cup. Then she searches his pockets, pads down his worksuit, and searches his hiding spot; nothing turns up.

"What are you looking for? Evah?" She doesn't pay attention to him, instead she riffles through her utility belt, pulling out her holoscanner and starts searching everywhere he has been.

"Evah?" he asks innocently.

"Find the plant!!" She practically yells at him, making him flinch.

He frantically searches around for the plant, to try to calm her down; he is just as confused as she is. He saw her take the plant from him, and she remained frozen the whole time. So how could it just disappear into thin air?

The Captain and Auto turn back around. Eve jumps back to her spot at attention, with Wally still looking aimlessly around.

"Lieutenant, did you actually find a plant, or are you making this all up?" Auto asks suspiciously.

"No! Not at all, Sir! I-I KNOW I found that plant, it was an** Ailanthus altissima**, a Simaroubaceae tree seedling that was planted in an old boot. I swear on my life I had one in that container!" Eve replied defensively.

"Why don't we scan the inside of the container itself to be sure, it could have just fell out." The Captain suggests, Auto pulls out his specialized chip and inserts it into the chamber of the container, Eve awaits worriedly.

It pings negative after a couple of seconds.

"Bio-analysis shows that this pressure sealed container experienced no recent presence of a biological specimen. The only plausible explanation to the lieutenant's claims of her 'missing' plant this is that the lieutenant has not found a plant at all." Eve scoffs at Auto's flat statement.

"So, then...we're NOT going back to Earth?" The Captain asks Auto.

"Negative, Sir."

"I guess, uh, that means things go back to normal, huh?"

"Correct, Captain."

The Captain happily closes the manual in his hands, inwardly relieved to stick to the _Axiom._

"Well, False alarm!"

The computer confirms it and the systems return to their usual setting; the arm device retracts into the ceiling and the blast shades retract, flooding the Bridge with light, everything has returned to the safe and sound, normal.

"How could this have happened?" the Captain asks Eve for this stir.

Auto states his opinion. "If I may, Of all the considerable possibilities to the issue, I conclude that either the lieutenant must have misidentified what she thought was a plant, forgot to place it in the container if she even found one in the first place; or her neural implants must have malfunctioned and caused her to enact the protocol, or lastly, she could just be falsifying all of this."

Eve is losing whatever patience she has against this accusation.

"Excuse me?! I would never lie, let alone misidentify a plant. I have an unmatched academic honesty record, I have graduated top of my class in the E.V.R.E. training program. I have mastered the fields of Astrobiology, Anthropology, Agriculture, Excavation, Microbiology, Physiology, AND I have mastered Botany to the point I can name every plant, family, order, genus, and species from heart! AND about my health: I have surpassed all the physical health screenings before each and every mission! I have never been sick in my life!!"

"Then therefore, the only logical possibility left is that you may never have found a plant and must have lied to us, Lieutenant; you have an unprecedented foundation of knowledge to the regard of evaluating biological life, have never committed any academic dishonesty, and are the most physically suitable for the directive. On the contrary, it does not mean you are never completely dishonest or vulnerable to making a mistake or becoming ill, you are human after all. And there is no other way for us to verify you are telling us the truth, so just the declaration of your finding in itself is self-explanatory; it could range from a delusional side effect of prolonged suspended animation, or it could be job-induced stress. Besides, though these containers cannot possibly be forcibly opened, their encoding subroutines can still be manipulated with to indicate a positive finding. And as for your neural implants, one could also access their interfaces to trigger a protocol command to fabricate a source of proof to justify your acquisition."

Auto's monotone words cut Eve off from defending herself further; there is no way she thought she could match up to his computational reasoning to claim what she was saying is true.

"Then...I guess, she made it up out of stress." The Captain slowly understands everything Auto said.

"And regulations state that when it comes to dishonesty, a scout's personal health, and the recolonization protocol, a very serious protocol that changes our way of life no less, it is an act of unhealthy dishonorable conduct, which carries consequences." Auto turns to the Captain for a penalty.

"Uh, ya that's true I'm afraid, Lieutenant. But since it could be anything from outright lying or just personal health concerns altogether, I recommend that you are to be sent to the Ward for evaluation. Your reconnaissance status and rank shall be revoked until I overrule it otherwise."

Eve's mind dreaded over her sentence: evaluation and demotion. She is to be sent to the ship's medical center to undergo a series of physical examination and psychological diagnosis & processing.

"But, Sir, I'm-"

"No 'buts', Evelyn. You WILL undergo the evaluation, and that's an order." The Captain said in finality.

Eve slumps down in defeat, confused and angry that she knows shes telling the truth, but she is called a delusional liar instead.

"Gofer, go ahead and escort the lieutenant to the Ward." The Captain orders.

"Aye, Captain." Gofer salutes, He takes Eve by her arm to walk her over to the transport.

"have them run diagnostics on everything from implants to interface, make she isn't—AAAAHH!!!"

Everyone on the Bridge jumps in surprise at the Captain's surprised yelp.

They look to see him pointing at Wally, who was still obliviously searching around for Eve's plant while he was hidden right behind her.

Wally froze like a deer in headlights, he had finally been discovered.

An awkward minute of silence passes, before Wally decides to break the ice.

"Hello." He walks innocently up to the still stunned Captain, and shakes his still pointed hand with his biological left hand.

"I'm Wally." half-stuttering.

He lets goes of the Captain's hand, he left a considerable amount of dirt and grime on it.

The Captain just stares at it, unable to respond, he's never seen dirt before. Auto raises an eyebrow at the strange man before him; Eve is looking away, her face red in embarrassment.

Auto turns to the baffled Captain.

"Do you want me to call security, Sir?"

"Uuuh..." he is still trying to identify the contaminants on his hand, then he answers.

"Have, uh, 'Wally' cleaned."

Auto was just as baffled as the Captain, but carries out his orders.

"Aye, Sir. Chief, escort this gentleman to the Ward as well, they'll know what to do."

Gofer grabs a confused Wally and sets him down in the tram next to Eve, handcuffing him with in a pair of energy binders.

Eve has her head in her hands, wondering how much worse can Wally ruin a bad homecoming?

* * *

**I SERIOUSLY NEED TO KNOW HOW TO ADD MY HAND-DRAWN PICS OF HUMAN WALLY, EVE, MOE, AND AUTO TO SHOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE!**

**Okay, now that's done and out of the way, i hope this chapter is a great read for everybody for a week or so when i draft up the next few chapters. **

**Something was brought to my attention. I was wondering if anyone willing to read & review, will also provide a new name for this fanfic; for i was told it needed to be a little more 'Catchy' for a throughout human wally fanfic.**

**So please, read, review, and submit. I could use a little feedback to know about my progression. If there are any suggestions to add or any problems to fix, please let me know!**


	17. Chapter 17: Define Earth

**Got this done in two hours time, and another three of editing; but i think i got a good McCrea based chapter for his development. **

**Disclaimer, do i even need to say it?, we all know it by now. But laws are laws.**

* * *

CHAPTER 17. DEFINE EARTH

The typist's mind was wondering, her warped task of receptionist duties was slowed by the strange man she saw earlier.

The elevator doors to the Bridge lobby have opened; Chief Gofer's tram hovers off without giving notice to the typist.

When she looks to see the tram leave, she sees the very strange man she meet, his hands bound with energy binders, along with an E.V.R.E. scout who sat next to him; the scout didn't seem pleased at all. The man notices the typist and waves at her, the typist enthusiastically waves back; he is the only person kind enough to acknowledge her whenever someone needed to go in or out of the Bridge. He waves even more as his tram disappears out to the Lido deck, he has made the typist's day a little brighter.

...

Wally waves back at the nice lady at the receptionist desk, she was kind enough to not raise the alarm, so he waves her a friendly goodbye which she happily returns.

As they leave the lobby, he turns his attention to Eve, who looked distant and irritated beyond measure. He didn't know why because he wasn't paying any attention to what she and the tall man were arguing over, he was too busy looking around for the plant she wanted. Whatever it was, Wally hated seeing her look so upset for nothing. He tries to talk her out of her trance, to cheer her up.

"Evah?"

"Do not speak to me."

She didn't even look at him, and shes trying to zone out his attempts to get her attention with a warning hint. But Wally pressed on to get through to her.

"But, Evah, what's wro-" Eve elbowed him in the side to silence him.

"Ow!" he groaned; she hit him too hard, the force of her augmentated strenght practically cracked one of his ribs.

"Shut Up!" Her voice was sharp, and threatening; the anger in her expression looked worse than her combat stare.

Wally gasped at the stabbing pain in his side, and at her response to him. He realized that whatever she was upset over, it must have been something he did very wrong; and now it felt worse to see her like this than when she was frozen. But he doesn't know what he did wrong exactly, he did what she told him, and he had nothing to do with taking the plant. But why was she taking it all out on him and hurting him?

He sat there in disappointment, and with a broken rib; his mind wondering between how-in-Forthright's-name is he going to reconnect to Eve, and where the tram was going.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Bridge, the Captain was preparing to go to his quarters for the day, to find out what is the strange specks left on his hand by that 'Wally' fellow they sent with the lieutenant to the Ward.

He stares at the dirt and grime on his hand, wondering how anything this filthy can be present on board such a sterilized starship.

"Weird."

"Sir?" Auto hears him from the helmsman station.

"Oh, its- just this day has been interesting enough, more than any day in that regard. A false plant alarm, and that strange Wally. I've never seen someone like him before"

"Neither have I, Sir. I took the liberty to do a manifest search of all possible passenger and crew names. And so far, the name 'Wally' or 'Wallace' or 'Walter' does not appear within any of the ship's records."

"That's very odd, how about where is he from and what is he?"

"I most certainly do not know, Captain."

"Hm" The Captain tries to speculate any possibility of who he is and where did he, and these specks, came from.

"Oh, well, the Ward will let us know further about. I'll be headed down to my room, Auto, you have the con."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Auto salutes the Captain as his hoverchair disappears into the elevator; and he returns to the helm.

* * *

Down below the Bridge, the Captain activates his personal supercomputer. A giant 4ftx8ft holographic screen that appears out from a desk-like console similar to the control panels on the bridge.

"Computer, analyze."

The Captain places the dirt specks into a circular sample container, they leviate in light as the computer's Artificial Intelligence scrutinizes it. A nanosecond passes by as the screen brings up teraflops of scientific information and graphic illustrations of the dirt.

"_ANALYSIS: FOREIGN CONTAMINANT. SUBSTANCE IS A THREE-PHASE SYSTEM OF MINERAL BODIES COMPOSED OF VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF NATURALLY DERIVED SOLIDS..."_

…Even in simple version explanation relay, the computer goes on and on and on. The Captain has already zoned out, tired and wanting to just call it a day already; besides, the Ward will bring up information about that 'Wally' and this dirt stuff, hopefully it shouldn't be too boring…

"…_SUBSTANCE IS MORE COMMONLY REFERED TO AS: SOIL, DIRT, DUST, OR EARTH."_

The Captain's train of thought came to a complete stand still at that word.

"Earth?!"

'_These specks of dirt came from Wally, but that meant he must've been from Earth?'_

He doesn't mind the uncleanness of dirt aboard his ship, or about how in the universe Wally is on board, but rather that _if he_ really is from Earth, it should be impossible for him to be alive. But it seemed to be the only logical answer.

He eyes the globe at the corner of his room.

Yes, it has been uninhabitable for centuries, and it still is, based off of the last sketchy report. But Eve did have a point: over long periods of time, a planet or at least a part of it can change.

He has also never seen what Earth has really looked like, or what the true value behind its biological life they keep trying to find. He was just taught about it in grade school, about humanity's heritage from this planet, and the known facts of the trash crisis that has lead them to where they are today. He wanted to know more about what the secret behind its importance to being life bearing. Sure they have their ships, cramped as they are, but as for a whole planet, what's so special about it?

Perhaps he could look more into it, he mind find something to quell his questioning mind.

"Computer, new search; define: Earth."

The screen goes blank momentarily, and new images of land begun to appear. From various farm lands, to fertile mineral soil, food crops, fresh greenery, beautiful plants, misty rainforests, snow-capped mountains, lush wildlife, warm desert sands, landmasses, geologic elements & resources, the biosphere, and dozens upon dozens of other images fill the screen in just seconds. The Captain drinks in everything, his curiosity and interest with humanity's homeworld inflaming.

"'_EARTH' – THE THIRD PLANET IN THE SOL SYSTEM, THE ONLY KNOWN PLANET IN THE UNIVERSE CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING COMPLEX LIFE. THE TERM IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE SOLID SURFACE OF THE WORLD, AS DISTINCT FROM THE SKY OR SEA."_

Finally, a single image appears before the myriad and colorful display of earth-related topics; this image showed the crystal clear blue oceans, white clouds, and green continents of the planet Earth in all its beauty and glory from orbit, this is what it was meant to be like.

"Wow." The Captain is fascinated by the majesty of the blue/green orb floating peacefully in space.

So this is where they came from; compared to the images of seeing countless outdoor views, to the void blackness of space, this is just too new and inviting to ignore.

He spots one image that caught his attention. A view from a white sandy beach, overlooking something called the 'sea.'

"Computer, define: Sea." He clicks on the image, more information floods his screen about water, but he is more than content to read it all.

"'_SEA' – A LARGE BODY OF WATER, ALSO A SYNONYM FOR THE TERM 'OCEAN', AN EXPANSE OF SALTWATER THAT COVERS 71% OF THE PLANET'S SURFACE, AND SURROUNDS ITS LANDMASSES…"_

The Captain stays glued to his screen, unlike others aboard the Axiom, he was doing something productive and educational; this has definitely been a not so boring day for the Captain.

* * *

**Another short one for the day. Next chapter, lots and LOTS of new familiar robotic-turned-human characters, dialogue and commotion! R&R if you like, even if you do not have an FF acount. And don't worry, i can take constructive criticism (THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE FLAMING!!).**


	18. Chapter 18: The Medical Ward

**I bet this is a chapter every human Wall-E fanfic writer tries hard to finish. I hope i did this one good enough to be a good human-story-consistent read. It took a lot of brainstorming and headaches, but I got it done and re-editted! **

_**WARNING: SOME CONTENT INVOLVING EVE'S DIAGNOSTICS MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR K+ READERS, IF THE DECRIPTIVE HUMAN CONTENT OF THE PARTICULAR SCENE IS TOO MATURE FOR YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER. FOR I OBVIOUSLY DO NOT WISH TO BE SUED OR HUNTED DOWN. **_

**At the bottom of the chapter is a list of the other robotic characters in human form, in case anybody needs to know who they are in reference to the film's repair ward scene.**

**Disclaimer: yup, i still wasn't the owner of this film, ever. **

* * *

CHAPTER 18. THE MEDICAL WARD

(Somewhere in the _Axiom'_s Service Levels…)

Moe scrubbed and sterilized, scrubbed and sterilized, and scrubbed and sterilized some more. As he had been doing for the past few hours; it took awhile to do this heavy duty procedure, especially for deep dirt cleaning to obliterate every single microscopic bacterium in footprints.

This was for that dirty man's footprints. He had left his dirty boot tracks running from the Docking Bay, to the service elevator, 50 levels up, down the Aft Maintenance Corridor, and Forthwright knows how much farther that yellow suited man has gone, and how much foreign contamination he left behind.

"_FOREIGN CONTAMINANT" _Moe's HUD repeated for the hundredth-something time.

"I Know!" He screamed at his visor's HUD.

He furiously scrubbed harder and harder on every footprint he came across whenever he reminded himself of his directive.

"_FOREIGN CONTAMINANT"_

"I Know! It's Disgusting, And I Will Clean It!"

The HUD repeated the identification of foreign contamination after every few seconds, his sights were still set on the dirty boot marks and never broke away to see anything else.

Moe cuts across a maglev path line, without looking of course.

"Hey, Look Out!" The driver of a freighter screamed out, stopping before Moe abruptly. Then, more hover-vehicles crashed into the freighter, a traffic pile up ensues in his wake. The drivers fall out, holding their heads and necks in injury.

"Watch Where You're Going, Kid!" One of them yells.

Moe doesn't pay any mind to them, for he had a duty to fulfill. All he could think about now was where and how far did that dirty man go in this ship. He figured he'll find him soon enough by just keep cleaning his tracks, down to the last footprint; and by Forthwright was he going to get the cleaning of his life when he finds him!

...

…Moe fails miserably to notice Wally and Eve's tram passing right by him towards the medical center…

...

Wally thought he saw a familiar figure zoom right by, even as they were zipping through the maglev paths at high speed.

"_Was that the short fellow from the docking bay?" _

Eh, it doesn't matter; he was still more concerned about where the tram was going. They have been moving about the path lines from the Bridge to the 'Ward' as the Captain called it. He eyes Eve from the corner of his sight, they have been sitting in awkward silence for almost an hour; her angry express has only dimmed slightly, she is still pretty sour towards him. The pain in his side from her elbowing his rib flared up and down as they went on.

Though he set aside his physical injuries, his mind was aching from an hour of contemplating about how he was going to try to speak to Eve again when she doesn't want to speak to him.

He put his head in his hands.

"_Oh, how much longer until they get to the 'Ward?'"_

The hover-tram comes to a stop. Wally's head shoots up to see they have reached a set of doors that read: '_AXIOM _MEDICIAL CLINIC AND EVALUATION CENTER'

Wally's question answered, they've reached the ship's medical center, or also known as the 'Ward'.

The doors open to reveal a vast, clean-kept facility lined with rows upon rows of individual holding cells.

Wally looks around, each one of the patient holding room's entrances were blocked off by transparent force fields. The Ward was full of activity; lots of sick patients, lots of them were mentally ill patients. They were jumping, bouncing around, goofing off, and doctors, orderlies, and other staff members were running around to tend to each one of them.

Two medical doctors in white coats walk up to the tram, greeting Chief Gofer and Eve, she didn't answer back.

One of them pulls out a holographic data-pad.

"Hello, Chief, I assume this must be Lieutenant Eve you wanted us to examine?"

"That is correct, Doctor, it's a long story but I believe you were already informed about the incident and her delusional story up on the Bridge."

The doctor begins typing into his pad.

"Yes, we received all that and we will run a few tests to find out if its any psychosis to worry about. And whom may be this gentleman?" he points toward Wally.

"We're not sure, but we believe he is an unregistered passenger, he says his name is 'Wally'. The First Officer relayed more information that stated he does not exist on this ship or in any of our records."

"He is an unregistered passenger without legitimate identity?'" one of the staff asked.

"Yes, he also managed to sneak up into the Bridge; which is a major security breach. Therefore, we sent him here for confinement until notified otherwise; the Captain also said he wanted him to be 'cleaned.'"

The doctor eyed Wally and his grime covered form,"I see, well we shall see to it to run a DNA analysis to find out who he is…and to give him a bath."

The doctor chuckles at Wally's filthy appearance, he felt a little offended for not knowing what we went through to end up looking the way he was.

The doctor types a command into his data-pad, and two red holographic arm straps appeared out of the hologram.

"Well, Sir, go ahead and leave them with us and well send the Captain some results regarding these two."

"Thank you, Doc." With that done, Gofer forces Wally and Eve off the tram, and he departs the medical center.

The doctors place the irremovable red arm strap around Eve's right arm; a psychiatric patient identification strap to let others know who she is and that she belongs here, a form of a tracking device.

"Alrighty, Lieutenant Eve, come with me." One doctor takes her over to another room, giving her an injection for the examination. Wally grows worried when he sees this, and tries to call out to her.

"Evah!"

The other doctor starts oh him. "Okay, Mr. eh, 'Wally', lets get started." He tires to give Wally his strap and a sedative; Wally panics, tries to brush the doctor off.

"G-G-Get away from me!"

"Hey! Stand still, I'm not going to hurt you." he tries to strap Wally again, but he keeps resisting.

"Ugh, Don't be so difficult!" He his almost wrestling to get his arm bandage on. Wally is just too afraid of what they were going to do to him.

"Ah, forget this, maybe a sedative will get to stop flailing around!" Wally goes wide eyed scared as the doctor tries to jab the syringe.

Just as he tried to get a clear shot at Wally's arm, he kicks the doctor's hand, forcing the needle into the doctor's neck instead.

"OW! Oh God! That Really, REALLY…..reallyyy….hurrrrrrr…ooooohhhhhhhhhhh..." He falls to the floor unconscious, Wally runs off into the Ward after Eve.

Suddenly he is stopped in his tracks by a crazed woman. A pink-dye haired teenager with light blue eyes, large earrings, wearing a beautician jumpsuit, cosmetic tools, and she seemed to be either too high on sugar or having a mental breakdown. She was aimlessly applying makeup on Wally's face at incredible speed.

"What can I do for ya? Aaahh, jjjjjjjust a t-trim? Just A Trim? A trim? Trim? Uh-huh!"

Wally was trying to break free from this mad woman, but her white powdery make up brushes kept getting in his eyes, it burned like hell.

She stopped her frantic applying and held up a mirror to Wally's face.

"You look gorgeous sweetheart!"

Wally gasps at the hideous sight of himself with lipstick, mascara, foundation, rouge, eye shadow, and white powder applied all over his face and even over glasses; so freakish on himself he almost giggled. He turns to the crazy woman, who looked at him half-insane/half-pleading for a response.

"I-It-It looks…really good." He replied nervous but generously, not wanting to hurt her feelings about her misapplying, not that she applied cosmetics on a guy.

Two orderlies, tall and strapping men in white uniforms with holstered batons, suddenly grabbed Wally by the arms, dragging him to a holding cell.

"H-Hey! Let Me Go!"

"You can play Barbie with Perdie, aka that crazy bitch later, as soon as she takes some cosmetic lessons." One of them laughed at the beautician as they dragged Wally away, Perdie broke down in tears when she heard them.

"Hey, that's rude!" he told the two men dragging him.

They just ignored him, and dropped him into the tiny room.

"The doctor will be along here shortly, hopefully as soon as he wakes up from the little coma you just put him into; you will be given a genetic examination…and one helluva' bubble bath!"

As they walk away laughing, a blue force field seals Wally in.

"Let Me Out!" He angrily pounds on the transparent wall, demanding to be released.

He turns around to see two other patients in the confined quarters, both had red arm bands like he did.

One was a hyperactive carpenter with paint stained all over himself, on his white coveralls and even on his face and unruly hair. He held a multicolor-select paintbrush; he was mumbling to himself and was stroking color after color wildly and illegibly on the wall, and his brushes are so fast that stray paint spots get splashed on Wally.

The other patient was a dust-covered janitor; he wore a dark blue jumpsuit, had curly hair, brown eyes, had a backpack mounted vacuum cleaner and an extendable broom. He seemed to be down with a cold, for he was wheezing and coughing, before Wally can ask who they were, the janitor sneezed something awful; dust and spittle was sprayed all over Wally.

Wally scrubs his face hard, to get all the dust, paint, spit, and make up off.

"Uh-aw, (cough) I-I-I-I'm tho thowy about that." The janitor apologized, his accent affected by a stuffy nose and his diminished English.

"I-It's alright." Wally finished wiping off his glasses.

"I'm Victor, but evwey body callth'me Va-Qum becuth I (cough)…" he points to the obvious cleaner strapped to his back, "…vacuum a lot."

"My name is Wally." He shakes Victor (aka Va-Qum)'s hand.

Va-Qum points to the crazed painter. "And that'th Vingo, he liketh to paint'th alt'th, but he geth a little too crathy without nothing to paint."

"I see." Wally looks outside the transparent force field. "What is this place?" he asked Va-Qum.

"It'th a bad pwath, you go hea when you'a thick and need to get betther, but the doctherth' are mean an they make fun'vuth." The janitor replied with his stuffed up nosed and speech impediment.

Wally looks around, there were cells filled with handicapped patients, all of them wore the red arm strap. Each cell was specifically designated for a certain diagnosis the doctors are addressing, by profiling out the patients. There was a cell full of 'Self-Abuse' patients with servants hitting themselves with trays; another cell with 'Obsessive-Compulsives' with tennis servers and golfers hitting balls in random directions.

The one cell that got Wally's attention was the 'Volatile' patients, one massager who was flailing his arms and legs in all directions, spinning and slamming his fists into other patients and staff members, drawing blood from them in a blind rampage, a human Tasmanian devil. 10 orderlies rush into his cell, they struggle furiously with him to pin him to the floor. Before he could break free of them, one staff member straps an energy-binding straightjacket, restraining him securely. He still resists, trying to attack the orderlies; but they pull out an electroshock baton, stun-striking him to subdue him. They half-laugh in relief and mocking of his bloodlust.

Wally was stunned at how cruel these medical doctors and staff can be to these handicapped patients, by beating, mocking, and labeling them.

The energy barrier to 'Foreign Contamination', his cell, deactivates; the very same doctor that tried to sedate Wally enters, with a bandage over his neck.

"All right, Wally, before I can bathe you and 'repay' you for putting me into a little nap!…" he said with a hiss, he was clearly distained for the patient. "…I need to take a few tissue samples for your DNA profiling analysis upon the Captain's orders."

He reactivates the force field, and pulls out a needle to extract a blood sample.

Wally backs away from the doctor.

"It's okay, I just need to take a sample, it won't hurt you…I promise." The doctor replies with a hint of annoyance at the last statement.

Wally reluctantly offered his left arm, the doctor inserts the needle into Wally's vein to draw blood. At that exact moment, Wally notices Eve being escorted behind a fogged glass door, to the: 'DIAGNOSTICS AND EVALUTION' room.

"EVAH!" he shouts as the doctor extract's Wally's blood.

"Oh, get over it you big wuss!" the doctor replies.

* * *

_**REMINDER: LIKE I SAID BEFORE, SOME CONTENT INVOLVING EVE'S PHYSICAL DIAGNOSTICS MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR K+ VIEWERS. YOU MAY CONTINUE READING, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED... **_

Eve sat on one of the hospital beds in the Diagnostics and Evaluation room. She looked around, it was a big circular room with individual exam stations; each had a bed, a table, and a rack of state-of-the-art medical equipment and tools. The medical stations and patients are openly visible, only the giant foggy glass door offered them semi-privacy. There were several tests being conducted around here. One human in the station next to her, a man with a fetish for umbrellas was screaming his head off as the doctor's tried to take an umbrella from him, they back off and the human calms down. In another station, a female EMT with stress-induced panic attacks was trying to properly defib a crash test doll.

"C-cccc-Clear! CLEAR!" She closes her eyes and places the deliberators on the dolls face, it caught fire.

Eve felt so embarrassed and out of place to be here. She couldn't stand to be around these-these... rejects. They were so very far below her; she didn't deserve this kind of placement with borderline retarded menial workers. She was an E.V.R.E. scout with an I.Q. of a hundred and eighty for Forthwright's sake, the best of the brightest.

It was all injustice, she was telling the truth; she _saw _the plant and even brought it _with_ her to this ship. But the fates and the commanding crew were against her for no explanatory reason and were reduced to a section eight. Not only a serious punishment she thought, but Eve believed it was practically one made to be make one feel humiliated to be here.

There was no way she could be brought down to this level in need of psychological evaluation for someone with a mind like hers. And if they agreed to have her committed to mental care, whether she was proven sane or not, this incident will permanently go into her records, thereby tainting her flawless service. And that misconduct of her duty could end up with at the very least a court marshal, if not, she'd lose her position as a scout. But the consequences would be worse socially, if word gets out and it probably will, her crewmembers and friends will spread gossip of her for the deceit in the most taboo and hush-hush tasks of surveying Earth; especially if they see her in this very room full of degenerates after what she said, she'll be labeled as one of them. She will be isolated and ridiculed behind her back for the rest of her natural life.

She cursed Commander Auto for sending her here; she cursed the Captain for being convinced by that oh-so-smart-and-uptight First Officer to order her to be sent here. She cursed the idea that nobody believes they would ever find a plant at the point they stopped believing in finding a habitable planet.

But most of all, she cursed Wally for the cause of all her trouble, for somehow stealing and losing the plant, and she ended up with the consequences of a false alarm.

No matter how curious she is to fathom how in the cosmos did he ever get onboard this ship, and why, she was going to make him pay dearly for this degradation.

"Alrighty, Lieutenant…" A naval psychopathologist happily prepares her testing, gathering his neural equipment and gloves. Standing rail thin, clad in a white surgical coat and a featureless face mask; and judging from his cheery attitude, he could be nothing more of a pediatrician, much to Eve's further embarrassment, never having thought that being reduced to evaluation meant being treated like a child.

"…Let's see if we can figure out what's up with you today."

"Like I said before, I am not losing my mind!" She annoyingly denies.

"I understand you don't want to do this, Lieutenant, but we can only be sure you are clean by a full physical diagnosis."

Eve sighs, he's right. "Oh, alright, fine. Let's just get it over with." Of course, even though she knew she wasn't crazy or lying, they had to know somehow.

"Okay then, let's start with a physical."

Without a word, Eve takes off her utility belt and plasma rifle, undressing her antigrav boots and the back mounted, suit-systems control piece; setting them down on the station entrance table. Then she strips off her nanotech-bodysuit, down to her white satin undergarments, revealing the perfectly tuned light skin of her tight athletic body, whose feminine muscle curvatures were more alluring without the suit. After that she reluctantly unclips her bra, her supple breast's small pink nipples shone in all their beauty and glory.

The doctor feels her body up and down with an empathetic look on his face, checking her body by running his gloved hands along her skin, inspecting for any cryogeneric frostbites or abnormalities with her catalytic thyroid augmentation for any deformities with her skeletal or muscle growth alteration. Eve blushes a shade of scarlet pink, knowing that she is practically standing nude, and is being touched in front of a male naval doctor in an almost sexual manner. But he is a doctor nonetheless, and it's his job for these kinds of things no matter how awkward it seemed.

"Okay, no freezer burn, elephantiasis, or runaway marrow growths; now let's check your senses."

He then pulls out an eyesight test card with variable size letters. Eve tests each eye, and reads off every single letter accurately with her enhanced 20/1 vision. Then he pulls out a U-shaped metal stick, after a tiny flick of it, Eve's hyper-tuned hearing detects it.

"Visual acuity and sonic reception checks out; let's take a look a look at your neural implants."

He pulls out a cable from a medical console, he gestures Eve to tilt her head forward. The examiner rifles her hair out of the way to reveal a tiny, biodegradable data-port, the size of a dime, surgically implanted into the base of Eve's skull that wirelessly links to her cerebral cortex's networking interface chip.

The examiner inserts the sharp-looking cable into the data-port (similar to how people get plugged into the Matrix)…

* * *

…Wally watches Eve's silhouette through the fogged glass as his doctor has already extracted Wally's blood and skin samples, even a retinal memory scan. Now he tries to take a hair follicle from Wally's scalp to complete the DNA collection for analyzing.

'_What are they doing to her?'_ he wonders when he sees her undress and another silhouette of a doctor block her view, move all around Eve, and pull out some of his tools. When he pulls out some kind of cabled sharp tool, Wally becomes uneasy.

The silhouette then takes the tool and appears to stab Eve in the back of the head with it.

"Oh My God! EVAH!"

Wally shoots up, accidentally hitting the doctor in the face with the back of Wally's head, knocking him unconscious…

* * *

…With the cable inserted, Eve felt nauseous and invaded of having a foreign, unbodily object probing her brain.

The examiner types a few commands in the console, preparing for a full scan of her neural sensual chip's condition and her emotional-neurochemical physiology.

"Alright, just stay still, this may feel a bit weird, but it's ticklish."

He taps the final command, the cable lights up as artificial bioelectricity process and feedback signals into her brain, the foreign sensations in her mind trigger endorphin stimulation, causing her to go into a giggling fit.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!STOP!HAHAHA!THAT-HAHA-TICKLES!HAHAHA!

...

"Come on, Brella, Give me that!" At the station with the human with the umbrella, a doctor finally manages to yank the umbrella from the man's hands.

"No! NO!..." He screams like a childish brat.

In his OCD, he lets out a eardrum-tearing banshee screech of torment as his umbrella was taken from him.

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…"**

* * *

…From outside, Wally is terrified by the sound of Eve's 'screaming'. His eyes go wide in horror when he sees her form light up, as if she was being shocked. He couldn't believe what was happening to her, she is being tortured and she was screaming in unspeakable agony, as if she was dying!

"EVAH!"

Wally frantically tries to find a way out of the cell, looking for ways to deactivate the barrier. He has to stop this madness and save her!...

* * *

…The examiner pulls out the cable from Eve's neural data-port.

"Well, you're not suffering from any of the augmentation side effects or any space adaptation syndrome; nor do I find any indication of cryogeneric induced psychodelusions or any forms of task-related stress, and you don't appear to be making any information up albeit by lying."

Eve was still giggling from the testing side effects, it almost hurt to continue laughing but it felt pretty good.

"Hahaha, I-I-Haha-I-I-told you! Haha…" she continued to laugh, half-ticklish/half-relieved she was medically proven right that she wasn't lying.

"Well, Lieutenant, it's odd that Command would send you here for something that you didn't do."

"I know." Eve finished her giggle fit. "I knew I found something and brought it back with me in person. I never make stories up or misidentify something I know to look for. The plant I had was most likely lost from…no, was _stolen_ and lost from me." She was referring to Wally, who made her realize that not only took away whatever proof she had that Earth was habbitable again, but also her only chance to bring the human race back to it, her chance of become the heroine of humanity lost.

The thought of him made her anger return through the fuzziness of the tickles; now that Wally's crime had also made her lose all feelings of euphoria and dropped back down to rage again, he wasn't going to escape her wrath even after her euphoric test session.

"Alright then, Eve, just one last thing before I can clear you. As a regulation for the E.V.R.E. health protocol and that of the _Axiom'_s disease-free environment, I need to give you your xenoimmunity induction vaccine."

"Oh, great." Eve knew what that meant, _this_ is going to hurt.

Eve lies down on her stomach on the hospital bed. Holding her breath, the doctor pulls out an pneumatic injector that shoots super T-cells into her body for resistance against unearthly diseases.

He holds up the device to the side of her buttocks, and injects the vaccine with a hiss of air. (Note: This is a similar procedure for earlier dated Tetanus shots where the vaccine was directly injected into the buttocks.)

"OOWW! THAT HURTS!..."

* * *

…From outside, at the angle of how Wally could make out Eve's silhouette positioned awkwardly lying belly down and rear end high against the standing doctor against the fogged glass. Eve lets out an audible scream as the doctor moves awkwardly against her, as if sexual-

Wally's mind almost stops functioning at the unbelievable realization of what the doctor was appearing to be doing to her.

She was undressed, stabbed in the head, shocked, tortured, and, and, and…and now she was going to be violated?

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Wally pulls out his cutting laser from his prosthetic arm, and slices the force field emitters. It short circuits as Wally cuts vital wiring, the barrier deactivates. But with him leaning on it, he falls to the ground, landing on his cassette player and clicking the play button for _Put On Your Sunday Clothes_.

Everyone in the medical center stops and stares at the sound of the blaring music; Wally gets up and runs toward the diagnostic room with all haste.

"I'LL SAVE YOUUUU, EEEVAAHHHH!"

He shouts at the top of his lungs, charging the glass doors like a runaway train and prepares all his strength to crash through...

* * *

…The doctor finishes Eve's injections; finally Eve is cleared of her diagnosis and can now prove herself to Command. The examiner turns to Eve, he just has to sign off her prognosis.

"Okay, Eve, you're all do-"

'CRASH!'

The glass door shattered into a shower of razor sharp projectiles, Eve and the doctor jump in shock; and then confusion at hearing the sound of _Hello Dolly _music.

"What The Hell?" Eve knew that music, she turns over to see Wally on the floor, groaning; the glass was harder than he thought, and he's lying in broken shards.

"WALLY?" He was the last person she expected to do something like this.

Wally shoots up from the ground, thinking quick for what he had to do.

Spotting Eve's plasma rifle on the console table, after a split second of contemplation and hesitation, he grabs it and starts aiming at all the medical staff. He trembled in sharp pain of broken glass in his skin and in uncertainty of his actions.

"STAY BACK, YOU! LET HER GO NOW, OR I"LL SHOOT!"

Everyone in the diagnostics room froze in shock and fear, so was Eve. He was holding a charged energy weapon, ready to blast anyone at will.

He has never, _ever_ allowed himself to kill in self-defense or for necessities of survival, not after everything he had seen and lived through back on Earth. But if it meant protecting Eve no matter what, like when he put his directive and health aside to care for her, then he'll sacrifice his humanity if need be. But he mentally hoped that he didn't have to.

Wally turns to her, the gun pointed at everyone else, still shaking.

"Evah! Are You Ok? Did They Hurt You? Did They Violate You?"

The stares then turn to Eve, she realizes he charged into here after her, and was holding people hostage in misunderstanding for her; she felt totally embarrassed the attention was centered on her.

"Wally, Put The Gun Down! I'm Getting A Medical Exam, What The Hell Are You Doing Here?" She yelled, beyond irritated by his drastic intrusion.

"I saw from outside these people were torturing you, I came …to rescue…you…" His words trailed off, he stopped shaking, his serious face turning to that of confused after he takes another look around.

"Oh." He realized with sudden defeat and misunderstanding, taking note of all the medical equipment and Eve's appearance, she had no injuries or any inflicted wounds he thought. So he broke in for her safety, only turning out to be nothing…

His mouth falls agape and his express goes awestruck when he notices Eve's lack of clothing; and does a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing a hallucination.

She is far more beautiful than he ever saw her with her nanosuit on; the tenderness of Eve's bare skin and her tight body sparkled in his vision, there was not a single visible scar or imperfection on her. She is, with a lack of better words: _Spectacularly gorgeous_.

He futilely failed to control his gaze as it locks on to Eve's exposed torso, particularly her breasts, which were perfectly sized (not too small and not too big) and the tiny nipples poked out in the cold air of the lab. He stood frozen in place as he drinks in the image of the unknown to him yet _very_ attractive features of her front, how little those thin white panties covered, and the seductive curves of her legs, hips, waist, and arced back sent shockwaves of unfamiliar sensations throughout Wally's body. His face turns flush of red and an embarrassing tingle of something growing was felt in his lower region; naughty thoughts raced through his mind, he felt a near-insuppressible urge to just touch her, feel every square inch of her curvaceous form to satisfy a power natural instinct threatening to take over him at the first sight of something impossibly beautiful. He has _never_ seen a naked woman before...

Eve catches Wally staring at her funny, along with everyone else in the diagnostics lab. The cold chill on Eve's skin finally makes her remember she wasn't wearing any clothing.

Then it hit her.

**"EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!"**

Eve's ungodly shriek echoes throughout the lab, making everyone jump in shock and surprise. Not just everyone, but Wally, was seeing her nude!

She covers up her exposed breasts and as much of her body with her arms, feeling unclean with everyone looking over her. Eve's face turned red in embarrassment and anger.

"LOOK AWAY YOU PERVERT!"

"AAAH!" Wally is inflicted with immeasurable terror by the sound of Eve. He instantly looks away in fear and in shame of his act of immodesty, he just saw Eve naked!

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" He hysterically apologizes; cursing himself for just hungrily eyeing her over!

But the situation hasn't improved when the staff in the Ward sees Wally with a weapon at hand.

"LOOK OUT! HE'S GOT A GUN!"

Taking the opportunity that Wally has his back turned, an orderly lungs for him. Wally turns around to see him coming; it's all happening too fast to hesitate.

Panicking, he brings up the plasma rifle to the orderly with his eyes closed.

"NNNNNOOOOO…" Eve springs for the gun in Wally's grip.

Just before one of them can stop him, Wally pulls the trigger.

A burst of superheated plasma shoots out. The wrong way.

Wally realized too late that he was holding the gun backwards! The ionized gas projectile streaks across the Ward, directly hitting the facility power generator; it explodes in a shower of sparks, white-hot debris, and plasma residue.

Everyone in the medical facility stares at the damage slack-jawed; they all turn their sights in the direction of who fired the shot, and the naked woman next to said person.

"Uuuoooooohhh…" Wally's mind froze in fear, he shrunk down where he stood, silencing his still playing cassette player.

"...Oops." That's it, he's done it now…

Eve's face was literally crimson red, everyone was staring at her naked form stopped just before tackling Wally for her weapon, frozen when she saw her efforts to stop him were in vain. Now she was inadvertently exposing her body with an arched back sticking out her rear end and her chest perking out in the air at a teasing angle. No man's eyes could be unglued from her nude form.

"Wooow, pwetty wady…" A small whistle escapes from one of the 'Foreign Contamination' patients (Va-Qum).

Her face turned impossibly redder, an expression mixed with insurmountable humiliation…and rage.

**"WALLY! YOU IDIOT!"**

A fist flew through the air, Eve's fist, and it was about to collide with one poor target.

Before Wally knew that Eve punched him square in the face, he already flew across the diagnostics lab and slammed into the plastisteel wall, putting his body-shaped dent in it. He felt like he was hit by two flying brick walls, first by her fist and then with a wall itself; followed by a third after falling from the dent in the wall and face first on the floor.

His face felt like it was on fire, his nose was broken and bleeding profusely, at least she didn't cave-in his skull. And it's miraculous enough his glasses or teeth didn't shatter and fly away nor did the plasma rifle in his hand.

Eve stood there with her teeth and fists clenched tight, drawing blood and trembling violently. Her breathing was heavy huffing and puffing, a fiery gleam in her eye. Every ounce of her felt total fury, humiliation, and annoyance, all pointed towards one, stupid, cowering, and helpless garbage man.

An electric noise startles Eve.

The doors to the evaluation ward whooshed open, all the force fields to the holding cells deactivate, and the consoles and lights go out with a powering down whine.

All the inmates and staff look at each other puzzled, the facility power generator must have short circuited from the blast.

Va-Qum breaks the silence.

"WE'A FWEE!"

After another pause…

…the entire medical facility breaks into chaos. All patients rushed out into the Ward, cheering in sheer joy; tackling the doctors, staff, and orderlies before they can respond.

Eve is left astonished when she watches the ensuing disarray.

"YAY! WAWWY! YOU FWEED UTH! Then, the mob of hundreds of freed inmates turns towards the diagnostics lab. They run through the broken glass, shattering it more, running over the doctors.

"Eth'cuth me, mean pwetty wady!" Eve is brushed aside by Va-Qum and Vingo, everyone rushes towards Wally.

Wally was even more confused, his senses were painfully sparkly and dazzled after just being hit hard by Eve, and now he's getting lifted off the floor by hundreds of patients onto their shoulders.

"THWEE CHEERTH' FOR WAWWY!" Va-Qum and Vingo exclaim.

"Hiphip, HORAY!" everyone cheers as they all charge out the entrance with their savior.

...

Out on the floor, the doctor who was performing Wally's DNA exam just woke up from unconsciousness for the second time.

"Oooh, my head! What hap-" before he could finish his sentence, he was run over by the stampede of patients; that's the third time he was knocked out today. But Wally's DNA samples have survived, which he would examine later, as soon as he regains consciousness, again.

...

Eve is left in the medical Ward all by herself, astounded and unbelieving of the ensuing disaster just caused by Wally; this day just keeps getting worse and worse.

As if to prove her point, the alarms sound as soon as the mob crosses the entrance line, their red arm strap tracking devices lighting up; soon all of the ship's security forces will respond to the outbreak. That meant sooo... much trouble.

Eve gets dressed as fast as she can, putting her underwear, nanosuit, and utility belt back on; but Wally still has her plasma rifle. Her peeping fiasco with hitting him fueled her drive to fly out after the mob, after Wally. To keep that nuisance from hurting himself or someone, for he is danger incarnate; a court marshal, career ender, and death of her, just waiting to happen.

* * *

**For those who didn't understand the other characters of the film's repair ward scene, there's the list below. I hope you enjoyed it:) please feel free to read & review.**

_**FOR THOSE WHO READ THE CONTENT OF EVE'S DIAGNOSTICS, I HOPE IT WASN'T TOO OFFENDING; IF IT WAS, LET ME REMIND YOU I PROPERLY WARNED YOU.**_

**HUMAN NAME - ROBOT NAME - FILM REFERANCE**

**Perdie...PR-T...The pink beautician bot**

**Victor (a.k.a. Va-Qum)...VA-Q...The vacuum bot that sneezed all over Wally**

**Vingo...VN-GO...The painter bot that knows how to sing **_**Hello Dolly!**_

**Brella...BRL-A...The umbrella bot who can't control himself.**

**Orderlies, Staff, Doctors...The mechanical arms of the repair ward in the film.**

**Up next: there is no limit to the amount of anarchy one simple garbage man can unintentionally unleash on the **_**axiom**_**. Ch 19 - Breakout shall be up soon. Hopefully soon, I got quarter exams at college to study for, but once that's over with, I'll be free to write all December long!**


	19. Chapter 19: Breakout

**I got this whol chapter done at 4 am last night, and alot of thinking had to be put in for how to post a scenerio for wanted escapees like 'CAUTION: ROGUE ROBOTS', and i wanted it to be more creative than just: 'ROGUE HUMANS' instead of 'DANGER: ESCAPED PSYCHIATICS', 'WANTED: Lt. EVE, ARMED AND DANGEROUS'. But anyway, here ya go:)**

**Disclaimer**: **i own the film, NOT!**

* * *

CHAPTER 19. BREAKOUT

The ship's security network was a beehive of activity; the Stewards, the police/servants of the _Axiom_, were mobilizing in response to the 'Ward' outbreak.

The stewards are all genetically engineered clones of each other; created for the purpose of having an obedient, and mass produced multitasking crew force. They each had the same cloned DNA and attributes: the same height, the same build, the same uniforms, the same looks, the same voices, even the same personalities. The only differences among themselves were assigned ranks.

A 20 man squad armed for riot control ran down the Aft Maintenance pathways at high speed, ordering aside all other maglev traffic. A steward Sergeant came over the COM earpieces of the on-the-move peace officers, briefing them.

"_Code 5150, I repeat, we have a Code 5150 in progress! The Medical Center has been compromised by a recent psychiatric patient outbreak. Reports have stated that the inmates have overwhelmed the orderly staff and disabled the facility defenses after a destroying the local power grid, triggering the alarm. All of the 351 registered patients have escaped and are being tracked via their homing straps. ALL of them are now roaming the Primary Maintenance Corridor together. BE ADVISED: Use extreme caution, for one of the inmates is armed with a plasma-based weapon and extremely dangerous. Your priority is to find this detainee and arrest him/or her. Then take control of the escapees A.S.A.P. before any more public or crew disorder ensues! Understood?"_

"AFFIRMATIVE, SIR, WE ARE OSCAR-MIKE!" They all replied in a unison voice as they made their way towards the breached medical facility.

* * *

The psychiatric rejects stampeded their way across the service corridor, cheering everyone they came across and looting everything in their way. Maglev freight lines came to a halt, reversed, even toppled over in the face of over three hundred wildly running inmates.

Wally didn't know if he should be confused, scared, or excited. The blurry side effects of being punched in the face were still dazzling him enough to think slowly of what's going on around him. He was right smack in the middle of disturbing the peace, and the commotion caused sounded serious; he must be in very big trouble. But having freed these people from the sadistic doctors of the 'Ward', it felt good that these people are now roaming free because of him.

The mob of celebrating patients makes a hard left around a corner.

"HALT!" A unison voiced command echos throughout the hall.

The mob stops so suddenly, Wally falls off their shoulders. He lands hard on his bottom, still clasping to Eve's plasma rifle. "Oh my!" Perdie and the rest of the mob have stopped dead in their tracks, frozen in fear.

Wally looks up to see row upon row of identical Kevlar-clad armored stewards; at least 20 of them, forming a man-barrier. They each have a flat palm stretched out, ordering them to stop. Wally froze in the same fear, he is outnumbered and being approached with force by THESE guys; he is in very, _VERY_ big trouble. Wally's hands and knees shake, he hides face behind the plasma rifle; like a guilty child facing an accusing parent.

With their rebellious drive all but destroyed and reverted, the mob tries to separate themselves from Wally in order to be spared whatever punishment.

"Uh…he did it!" Va-Qum and the rest of the mob steps back, pointing at Wally. The stewards look back at him, they finally notice the plasma rifle. "You! Surrender your weapon!" The lead steward commands Wally, pulling out his stun gun; the other stewards place their hands over their own weapons, ready to electrify Wally on the spot if he even twitches.

Wally cowers before the unmoved stewards. "_Why me?"_

* * *

From down the corridor, Eve rushes down the rioted maglev pathways the mob traversed. Her mind was boiling mad that Wally could stupidly cause so much havoc. He stole her weapon that inadvertently released highly unstable people, he got several people injured and lots of vehicles destroyed; what's that idiot goanna do next?!

She turns a corner; she finds the mob had stopped, along with Wally, who sat helplessly on the floor. She's got him, now she can end all this and nothing worse can ruin her day.

* * *

All the patients were pushed out of the way hard, Wally was surprised to see Eve pop out and start after him.

"Wally! You Give Me That Gun, NOW!!!" She angrily pries the weapon from his grasp; he backs up from her, for she looked really mad; which is goes noticed by the lead steward.

She must be the now armed and rather extremely dangerous detainee they are after. "You, Citizen! You are in violation of the _Axiom_ Peace Code, cease your hostility at once!"

Eve was busy ranting at Wally, the Steward shouts again.

"Citizen! This is your final warning! Cease hostility at once, or you will be subject for arrest!"

Eve, too ignorant of the stewards and angry at Wally, pistol whips him with her rifle, her very undoing out of anger. The steward taps the earpiece mounted camera, focusing on the aggravated and aggressively poised Eve. She hoisted her plasma rifle in a threatening manner, Wally and the reject mob look fear-stricken in the image; she looked like she was holding them hostage.

The steward takes the snapshot…

...

"_CAUTION: ROGUE HUMANS."_

In an instant, her photo presented itself on every holoscreen throughout the _Axiom_; from each advertisement, every direction sign, every deck, every hall, every room, even to every hoverchair.

...

…her photo appears on the datapads of the stewards. The ship's computer echoes the rogue human warning; Eve sees the picture of her holding Wally and themob at gunpoint. She can't believe that now she just made herself look like a violent criminal. They are now going to arrest her.

Her mind was pushed past its limits; the indescribable anger for the turn of events has her growling and fiery eyed at Wally, sending shivers down his spine. Today has turned for the worst, indirectly because of him making her seem so violent.

"WALLY!!!" She was about to turn on him when the lead steward barks his orders to the squad. "She's Is Deemed Dangerous, Arrest Her, Immediately!!" They ready their tractor beam binders.

Eve realizes what's about to happen. She grabs Wally by the collar, activating her antigrav boots, and flies past them at neck breaking speeds. The stewards are all knocked over by the shockwave of Eve's sudden departure.

The reject patients are amazed by what Wally and the pretty lady just did. They stood up against stewards! And if the one who freed them could do it, so could they!

"WE"A FWEE, LE'TH REVOLT! REVOLT!!!" Their drive to rebel has returned! They take the sign as Va-Qum charges past the stunned stewards.

All hell broke lose; the rejects storm in all directions, spreading anarchy wherever they go.

* * *

Eve navigates the pathways as best she can, without trying to hit anything; flying past freighters and crew who now recognize her 'Wanted' image and point her out. As she flies past obstacles, Wally gets scrapped and beat along the way; Eve doesn't pay any mind if he gets hurt, she's too furious at him and too busy escaping to think. Even though she's moving fast, she can't outrun the rejects and stewards in these tight turn halls, the tattling crew around her weren't helping.

A split-second moment to think, she dives into a viewport…

...Victor Va-Qum, Vingo, Perdie, the EMT, and the umbrella addict reach a three-way intersection, where they lost track of their savior.

"Uuuuh, Thi'th way!!" They head in a random direction, the stewards in hot pursuit; and a wake of destruction as escapees and crews brawl in the corridors.

Eve peeks out from the viewport they ducked behind, they lost their pursuers. She sat there for a moment, clutching Wally's mouth to silence him and contemplating her next course of action. But she's having a hard time thinking straight, Eve's day has reached a new low despite all impossibility; from being called crazy to being peeped, and now a wanted criminal.

"_All because of this stupid!, dim-wit!, dyspraxious Wally!!."_

Her thoughts subconsciously made her clutch Wally's mouth harder the angrier she got. His pained muffles of protest distracted her, "QUIET!!" She whispers harshly.

She looks outside the viewport that they were near the ship's docking bay, and entry & evacuation decks which were lined with emergency escape modules.

Wait! She gets an idea; one that might solve all her problems, or at least her biggest one. She picks up Wally and heads for the nearest turbolift.

* * *

Wally rode the elevator next to Eve uncomfortably,while he kept a hand over a swelling bruise on his head from her pistol-whip. The tension in the air was extremely thick that Wally could feel the anger radiating off of her; and her face hasn't changed from the hate filled beautiful blue eyes ever since they left the ward, like she was going to kill him any second. The silence between them was becoming more and more unbearable with each passing second; he felt he had to do something to break the ice; he wanted something to just happen than rather wait to be snuffed out by Eve.

"_CAUTION: ROGUE HUMANS"_ Their 'Wanted' image appears on the screen in front of them. Oblivious to what it meant, he's excited to see himself and Eve on TV, who knows, it might make her the least bit happier. "Ohh, Evah, look! We're on televisio--"

Without warning, Eve rockets her bare fist into the projector screen. Wally yelps in shock as the screen explodes into a shower of sparks and glass/metal shards, she put a dent in the wall and bloodied her fist. Eve is way beyond infuriated, maddened, enraged, or crazed.

She is ticked off, and ticked off at him.

Wally shrunk down to the floor as far away from her as he can, for he dare not make eye contact with the worsening angry expression of Eve. This is the worst day of his life, the one he cares so dearly for seemed about to pulverize him at any given moment, to make it his last day also.

He looks back up at the destroyed screen; he thinks he won't die too painfully...hopefully.

* * *

**Poor Wally, can he patch things up with Eve and prove he didn't steal the plant? for those who don't know, stay tuned for chapter 20. For those who do know, still stay tuned, human fanfics are too interesting to ignore!**

**Yosep: Thank you much for pointing out my grammer errors:)**


	20. Chapter 20: Axiom Escape Vehicle

**Just in time for a good Friday evening at the PC for a good fanfic read. just after Wally and Eve are declared rogue humans and what is Eve going to do to poor Wally? I also want to thank some of my readers (Yosep and Maecenas) for your pointers and opinions regarding the grammical structure hiccups. Thanx! Be sure to point out more if any!:) **

**And here there be: More human-instead-robot dialogue! Bon appétit.**

**Disclaimer: True or False, Do i seriously own the film? True? *AAAK* Wrong!**

* * *

CHAPTER 20. _AXIOM_ ESCAPE VEHICLE

Wally and Eve's turbolift stops at the main Boarding & Evacuation levels of the _Axiom_. The elevator doors open and Eve stepped out, wordlessly guiding Wally through the barely lit hallways; the air smelled stale, and dust coated every surface. They go through a vast corridor lined with bright emergency doors. The door they approach slides open as if for the first time, creating a slight screeching sound as its unused gears and railing grind together. Eve enters the dark room with a lone control panel; like the hallways of this level, the room's old, dusty atmosphere meant that no one, crew, passengers, or even maintenance, have accessed these areas in a long, long time.

Eve approaches the console and begins to fiddle with its controls, trying to get it up and running again. Wally just watches her from behind, wondering where she was leading him and what she was going to do with him.

He was confused, wasn't she going to smash his skull in, back in the elevator like she did to that projector screen? She's seems angrier than ever before, and as much as he knows Eve, she would usually destroy anything that annoyed her in the most peculiar, instantaneous ways; usually by brute force or just blasting her nuisances on the spot. So why are they here of all places?

Well, nothing made sense today. A lot of the confusion was Eve centric in particular; ever since she was surprised beyond words when she saw him after awakening from cryosleep. She turns on him for no reason, after the 'Ward' it all went downhill, causing more harm to himself unintentionally and to her. Because after everything he went through since the moment she froze on Earth, and after weeks of speculating what kind of happy reunion he hoped for with Eve, this was the very last thing he'd either want or expected.

Whatever the reason that caused the chain of events that lead till now, Wally couldn't stand to continue seeing Eve like this, he wanted to do something, anything to banish her anger and make her happy again.

He'll do anything.

His gaze lowers to her bloodied hand hanging limp at her side; Wally could see her wince slightly as she tried to move her fingers. He thinks back to _Hello Dolly!, _remembering of the gesture he has all but forgotten. He held his own hands together as gently has his prosthetic and biological fingers allowed; the feel of his hands felt somehow better, full and caring. He looks back at Eve's hand; maybe he could just hold hers, to ease her pain and make her feel cared for, a way of healing or some sort. It occurs to Wally that this must be the right moment to hold hands.

Yes! He will take her hand, and calm her down by telling her everything he came across the galaxy for...

The room springs to life before he could speak though. Ceiling lights activate to reveal an evacuation bay; yellow emergency directory arrows lit up on the deck and the walls, all pointed to an opened hatch at the end of the room, into the bright interior of an _Axiom_ Escape Vehicle. Inside were a circle of twenty crash-harness seats, terrestrial survival gear, and emergency Extra-Vehicular Activity equipment. Outside the viewscreen, on each side where rows upon rows of thousands of A.E.V.s lining the outer hull of the _Axiom_.

Eve turns to Wally; her expression blank, like she knows what he's going to do next. But he doesn't, Wally just looks between her and the hatch, wondering what to do.

"Get in." Eve points to the A.E.V. Wally's slow to understand, looking between her and the escape pod. _Why does she need me in there?_

Eve figured Wally didn't understand, she was too impatient to clarify everything for him, but she tries to remain calm and explain simple.

"I said: Get in. It's going to Earth." She points to the screen above them to show him. It projected a celestial map and the coordinates to Earth from the _Axiom._

Wally looks in between the hatch and the screen.

"OH! Umm...ok." He finally understands, and happily strides into the pod as Eve told him to; so they're going to take the A.E.V. back to Earth. Wally couldn't believe it; his luck has turned for the better, so he thinks; they are going home.

He takes a seat, clasping his hands expectantly and patiently like an obedient schoolchild. He looks back to see Eve still at the entrance, she doesn't seem in any bit fazed of leaving.

"Well…are you coming?" He pats the seat beside him.

She shakes her head, for the negative and bafflement for why he acted so nonchalantly.

"No, I am not." She said flatly.

"Huh?" Wally's enthusiasm for a homecoming suddenly vanished into thin air. _What? She's not coming?_

"W-W-Why not?" He grows uneasy.

Eve shakes her head again; she still couldn't grasp the idea of how Wally was so oblivious to all her confusion problems and disastrous fiascos because of him.

She once told him that it was classified to what her purpose behind all this was, but if she's going to be rid of him, might as well tell him why; if he is even capable of comprehending it, that is.

She points to the plant symbol on her suit. "Because I need to follow my directive, I need to find the plant."

"The plant?" _She's staying because of the plant?_ "But, I-I thought you have it already."

"I did, until you stole it and lost it." She gets straight to the point. Though she's hiding her bitter disposition towards him rather coldy, she's still too impatient to be rid of him.

Wally tried to put the pieces together. _So that's why she's so angry? I lost the pl-_

"W-W-W-Wait a second! _'I'_ stole and lost the plant?" He stuttered.

_Is he __**that**__ absent-minded? _Eve wondered angrily. "Yes. And that's why I'm sending you back to Earth."

"B-But I didn't take it! It was frozen along with you in your pod the whole ti-" Eve cuts him off "Well no one else, but you, has seen the plant, so therefore, you're the only one who could possibly have taken it."

"Unless you can tell me where it is or what you did with it, i don't need you around here anymore." She turns around to the console, just had enough of Wally playing innocent with her.

It made little sense to how she felt, he though Eve would be happy to see him again, to just be with her, like on Earth. But Wally had to ask her directly the only daring question to answer all of his confusion.

"Is that why you are so mad?"

Eve stopped dead in her tracks. Clearly Wally, in all of his never ending sincere curiosity, truly didn't understand what happened to her throughout his presence on the _Axiom_.

She turned around in a flash, with fire in her eyes as she snapped at him.

"Why am I so mad? Why Am I So Mad? I'M PRACTICALLY PISSED OFF! BECAUSE! OF! YOU!"

She lost whatever calm she had left as she approached Wally with an accusing finger pointed at him. He shrunk down as she yelled and stepped closer to him with her pointed finger until she poked her every accusation into his broken nose, which added to the pain of his broken nose and his breaking heart.

"YOU STOLE AND LOST THE PLANT! GOT ME COURT-MARSHALED! SENT ME TO THE WARD! YOU BROKE IN AND SAW ME _NAKED_! YOU MADE _OTHER PEOPLE _SEE ME NAKED! ALLOWED EVERY CLINICALLY INSANE CONVICT ON THE SHIP TO ESCAPE! CAUSED A RIOT! ALMOST KILLED SOMEONE! AND WORST OF ALL: **YOU TOOK AWAY MY CHANCE TO BRING THIS SHIP BACK TO EARTH! AND REDUCED ME INTO A WANTED CRIMINAL AND A LAUGHING STALK!"**

Wally's mind was fear-ridden, and co-incited with his shattered feelings. Confused over the things that she told him he did; from freeing tormented patients to peeping and accidentally destroying property, all building towards humiliating her. But it all harmed the accident-prone Wally than it did to Eve. It painfully reminded him of just how clumsy he was, and still is.

After Eve stares him down, burning holes into his heart with her fiery eyes, she whips her back to Wally; her long white hair almost smacking him in the face as if intentionally. She headed back to the launch bay console. Wally sat there shrunken in his seat, distraught, heartbroken, and at a loss of words.

"I'm sending you back to Earth and that's final. And good riddance too, I don't need _you_ around to make my life even worse than you already made it. At least I'll know that it's far more comfortable here in the brig than rotting away in that crap-hole planet you call 'home'." Eve said without looking at him in a stern and insolent tone which was more than audible enough regrettably to reach Wally's ears and stick a knife through his heart.

His eyes can not help but show how hurt he felt as Eve's infuriated words echoed in his mind; he felt like a puppy whose been shot. Even his broken rib, bloodied nose, pistol-whipped forehead, and clenched jaw hurt more than anything painful he's ever felt. They weren't the worst injuries imaginable, for he's had _far_ worse things happen to him, but those wounds were inflicted by the one he loved. They both knew he was clumsy, but she had gone too far to blame _everything _on him, and insult him for it.

He felt like Eve wanted to hurt him directly, his emotions and body, as if she hated him; all for things he innocently never intended to happen. He was on the brink of tears.

As Eve moves over to the control console, readying the ship to send him away...

_No! I'm not going back! _

He felt an awakening when he realizes that in a few moments he will be sent back if he stays on this pod. He didn't have time to cry now, he had to take action.

_I'm innocent! I love her! And I am not going let some irritated female of Eve send me away and lose her forever for something I did not do!_

A new emotion runs through Wally, one he thought he would never relay or express to Eve; he exits the AEV, walking taller than he ever felt before.

Eve was just about to start the launch for the A.E.V. when she notices Wally strode up to her.

"Get in the escape pod, Wally." Her voice was final. He responds in the most unexpected way that grabs her complete attention.

"No."

Eve looked at him dumbstruck, did he just disobey her? But her confusion didn't last long, for her boiling anger was now taking control of her thoughts.

"Wally! Get In The Pod! NOW!" her voice rang in his ears, he held his ground.

"I Said No, Evah! I did not steal the plant. And I'm very sorry that I've been so clumsy, but I'm not going anywhere for doing nothing. I'm not a scapegoat!"

He's being truthful, there was no way he could have possibly stolen the plant from her frozen pod, and he tried and failed even; her cryotube was impervious after all. The thought popped into Eve's mind, but once again, she's too blind-sighted by her own fury.

"I'm Warning You! **Get In That Pod This **_**Very Instant OR ELSE**_**!" **She hissed at him; Wally saw her hand trail over the grip of her plasma rifle, the safety switched off.

He knew it would be suicidal to stand up to someone as temperamental as Eve, _if _there were someone with such a temper level to begin with, but he has a resolution. He purely loves Eve beyond measure and forever will, but he had to stick up for himself, even to her; because she is being irrational, and he is innocent.

Wally hesitated for a moment, her final warning meant life or death. But he found the right answer for the necessity of the situation; he answers as calm, firm, and as clearly as he can, but not without summoning the courage to not run away from the immediate threat.

"Evah…I'm _not_ leaving this ship."

It all happened too instantly. Wally realized he was on the ground, starring down the barrel of Eve's plasma rifle mere centimeters from between his eyes; before he knew he was struck in the head again and knocked to the ground by Eve herself. She kneeled over him, pinning his body to the deck with one knee and another pressed into his throat in a combat lock stance.

**"FINE! Its Better If I Just Kill You Now! And Everything Will Go Back To Normal!"** She spoke through clenched teeth and fiery hate-filled eyes of insurmountable anger that would have bested the devil.

**"Any last words?" **Eve demanded.

_This would happen_, Wally expected of her killer instincts, he wasn't just going to comply with this murderous woman's demands to leave her; he had to try to reconnect with the Eve he knew, even in the face of certain death.

He struggles to breathe under Eve's death grip so he could speak, though in a choke and breathing between words, he talked quietly one more time to calm her down and explain everything, braving his fear of obliteration.

"Evah…please…listen to me...I really mean it;...I had nothing to do...with taking away...the plant...You froze yourself...along with the plant...as soon as you saw it when...I gave it to you...Don't you remember...when you were in my home...back on Earth?...When I showed you all my things...my treasures...and the lighters I had?...And the plant?..."

…Eve heard him, and took into account his calm demeanor and his honest voice. But despite how defenseless and innocent he was, her over-the-top boiling temper had her concentrated more on her twitching index finger, just halfway through pulling the trigger and being rid of the source of her turmoil once and for all…

"…They were gifts...The plant was a gift _for you_, Evah...I would _never_ want to take something...I gave...back from you."

Her finger froze just micrometers from triggering the firing mechanism of the rifle, all the rage and hate instantly faded out of her at the last sentence he spoke. Eve's expression softened as his words sank in, and her returning blue eyes took in the true acquitness of the purity in his eyes and the honesty in his choked voice; he didn't blink, stutter, tremble, or sound scared in any way. Deep down, something told her that he was telling the truth.

A question brewed within Eve's mind, she was still processing what he said.

It all seemed to make sense, for she neglected to take into account of Wally's harmless and kind-natured demeanor. But something about all this doesn't fit; it was something about Wally, not just the fact that such an important thing as a plant he gave to her as a gift, but rather about why he was here. How or what in Forthwright drove him to journey through space and the _Axiom_ to be present with her or follow her around? After all the mishaps and chaos that transpired, after unintentionally all the harm she inflicted on him and the accidents he caused, what influencing force or event had him stick by her side throughout the ordeal, no matter what.

She thinks she has an idea of what it might be, something she shrugged off when she was with him in his home, thinking about it when looking at a tiny flame from a zippo lighter. _But what was it_?

The seconds Wally waited for seemed like hours, Eve was still unmoving over him and her weapon still trained between his eyes. She finally let her choke hold off of his throat, and broke the silence; dared herself to ask that question.

"So…then…why did…y-you come all this way for? For….for me?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, but Wally heard as loud and clear as thunder, he knew exactly of what she was asking him. It was something he awaited to say in what seemed like forever, he can finally tell her he came all the way here, for her!

The turbolift in the bay corridor chimed. Before Wally could say anything, his attention and Eve's instantaneously snapped towards the sliding elevator doors, the overhead screen showed a turbolift was lowering to their exact level, and only a few seconds away; someone is coming.

Eve and Wally gasp in panic, but Eve gets off Wally in time to shut the room down. The A.E.V. darkens, hatch closes, and all emergency lights and consoles deactivate. The main entrance doors close with a quick screech, sealing them in the bay just before the elevator doors open; Wally and Eve dash for the nearest objects to hide under.

They hold their breath, preparing for the worst as they hear the bay doors open.

Footsteps enter the room, only one person by the sound of it. But the footsteps sound familiar; the evenly paced tapping of formal dress shoes. It couldn't be a steward, they wore combat boots; this one had to be a high ranking official.

The unknown figure approaches the main console, right behind where Wally and Eve are hiding. The figure taps a few commands in the console, and the A.E.V. and launch bay illuminate back to the way they were. As the figure approaches the opened hatch, Wally and Eve are shocked to see the unmistakable Master Chief of Security Gofer enter the pod, carrying something hidden from view in his other hand.

Wally turns to Eve. "_Chief Gofer?"_ Eve mouths soundlessly to Wally, just as perplexed as he is.

They lean over the side of the console; to spy on what the head of the _Axiom'_s steward security was doing down here in the evacuation levels.

Eve gasps, Wally looks in the direction of her line of sight, he gets the same reaction. In Gofer's other hand, was the old ratty boot and the seedling of an _**Ailanthus altissima **_planted within it_**.**_

"The Plant!" she whispers as excitedly and quietly as she their day just changed, the plant had not been indeed either stolen by Wally or lost by Eve; but rather most improbably by the third highest ranking officer of the _Axiom_.

Gofer places the plant in the middle of the deck, as if in disgust. Wally and Eve quickly hide behind the cover of the hatch when the Chief looks back. From the looks of him, he seemed suspicious, and paranoid; making sure no ones watching him, then he gets to work. They can't see what the Chief is doing on the A.E.V.'s control column, but whatever it is, it can't be good.

Though they know who the real thief behind all this is, only more questions arise inside both of Wally and Eve's minds as they speculate about the motives of his treachery.

_Why did he steal the plant? Why did he bring it here? And what is he doing to the pod?_

As Wally busied himself spying Gofer, Eve glimpses over to him; something else arose in her mind, Wally _WAS_ telling the truth.

He was an innocent victim all along of her mislead wrath; he had been framed and paid for Gofer's crime since leaving the Bridge all the way to here, by her. And through ill-tempered physical punishment.

A wash of overwhelming guilt came over her when she remembers their confrontation just a minute ago when at gunpoint; he pleaded to her that he was being truthful, while she was just moments from blowing his head off, for nothing.

_What have i done?..._ she mentally dreaded over her thoughts, she almost killed, no, almost _murdered_ an innocent man. Eve felt unbearable guilt...

Gofer turns from his unknown work to exit the pod. Wally and Eve hide further away from the hatch as Gofer heads back to the main control console. Eve keeps on eye on his every move…

…completely unaware that Wally stealthily snuck into the AEV to retrieve Eve's plant…

…Gofer checks the outside of the launch bay for any witnesses; none but Eve is hidden and present. He then activates the external release sequence, shrugging off on how it was already activated (by Eve of course); Eve doesn't understand why he was going to launch the pod with the plant.

_But that means the plant will be lost! _Eve turns to Wally- but he was nowhere to be seen.

_Wait. WHERE'S WALLY?_

Her question was answered when she looks into the A.E.V., he has picked up the plant from the floor. _Oh no! He's going to be launched!_

"Evah!" He mouths wordlessly in triumph, blissfully unaware of what's about to happen.

"WALLY!-"

Too late, Gofer presses the manual launch command.

Before Eve could get him to get out, the hatch closed Wally inside; the A.E.V. jettisons from its moorings, the sub-light engines engage and blasts the escape vehicle away from the _Axiom_ and into deep space.

* * *

**Well then, Wally and Eve's first steps toward reconciliation, and SO MUCH MORE! After we see what happens if Wally is rescued or not. If you haven't een the film, this would be pretty wicked to read before seeing it. But alot of us have and know whats going to happen. But we won't spoil it for ya. If we can try...**

**R&R if you like. Ch 21 will be up A.S.A.P.**


	21. Chapter 21: ExtraVehicular Rescue

**Like i said, Ch 21 would be up A.S.A.P. and it took only 90 minutes to write! I hope you enjoy this quick suspense read, following Gofer placing the plant into the escape pod and launching Wally within it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: i do not own Andrew Stanton's Wall-E or Jack McDevitt's technologies (You'll know what i'm talking about when you read this chapter).**

* * *

CHAPTER 21. EXTRA-VEHICULAR RESCUE

Gofer hurryingly shuts off the launch alert system, not wanting to draw attention to a jettisoned escape pod. All is quiet as he takes one last look at the A.E.V. shrinking in the distance of the void. Just a little bit longer and his task will be complete, the pod just needs to get out of plain sight before that happens though. But he can't stay here to watch it, should the Captain take notice in the Bridge or any passengers or crew are watching outside. They hardly ever do, but better safe than sorry.

He turns to leave, but he freezes; did he just hear a sound? He runs out of the launch bay to avoid any witnesses. Eve emerges from behind cover; she's too worried to be relieved of avoiding detection after calling out to Wally.

"Oh, no." She dashes over to the viewport hatch; she looks on in horror to see Wally rapidly dwarfing and disappearing into space. She tries to think, what should she do?! He's getting farther and farther by the second, what should she do?!?!

Eve looks around in desperation, her mind too stressed of the situation for quicker coherent thinking. She spots the service airlock. That's it! She must go after him! As fast as she can move, she accesses the extra-vehicular survival gear, Eve frowns when she sees there's nothing but bulky spacesuits. _No, too time consuming to put those on, and not very useful. _She begins to panic. _Come on, Come On, COME ON!!_ _Hurry!! _Her mind races for another answer. She finds that other answer; In the stock of E.V.A. equipment, were…aha! Flickinger Field generator gloves. They are small plasma-window emitters built into a special glove that create an invisible energy shield around a person's body, that encloses a breathable atmosphere and allows the wearer to operate in the vacuum of space without a full-body pressurization suit.

Eve dons one of the gloves, and activates the force field; a faint aura of energy surrounds her whole body, sealing her from the outside and equalized with normal air pressure. Not wasting any time, she enters the service airlock; Eve bypasses the depressurization sequence and, without a moment's hesitation, manually opens the outer hatch.

She blasts out of the instantly decompressed airlock, the escaping air catapulting her into the vacuum at high velocity. Eve straightens her body like a skydiver, her nanosuit's spaceflight mode automatically activates. Her HUD shows the A.E.V. is already 20,000 meters from the _Axiom_, and is rapidly accelerating at an alarming rate. She neurally diverts more of her suit's power to the antigrav boots, leaving a contrail of blue light in her wake.

She surpasses the A.E.V.'s speed, slowly gaining on it. 19,500 meters, then 19,000 meters...18,000...

She pursues him like a bat out of hell, she had to save an innocent victim…

* * *

Wally had no idea what just happened, one second he was closed off from Eve, and now he was pinned to the hatch, screaming his head off as the A.E.V. rocketed away, almost snapping his neck from the g-forces of the sudden speed burst.

The A.E.V.'s onboard computer decelerates the pod. "_CRUISING SPEED, YOU ARE NOW FREE TO MOVE ABOUT THE CABIN."_

Wally falls to the deck, he's not the least too relieved; he's still gathering his situational awareness. "Uh, oh" But as he sees the great flagship starliner begin to dwindle in the distance, he's realizes he was launched, and was getting farther and farther away from the _Axiom_, from Eve! He has to do something!

He scrambles to his feet, looking around for what to do. Wally sees the control column, and looks back at the _Axiom_. He dashes for the piloting controls, he has to get back to ship. Wally grabs the steering yoke, but it won't bulge. He pulls harder, still nothing, after slamming the controls it still doesn't respond to any of his commands. "Come On!!" He fights the controls, but realizes that Gofer must've set them to autopilot. "Dang it!" Wally looks around the controls to regain steering. He has no idea how to fly this thing. The control column displayed incomprehensible amounts of useless information. No overrides, no communications, or manual controls displayed on the touch-sensitive panel. Gofer really screwed this thing up; he obviously didn't want this thing to return, but why?

An alarming instrument screen caught Wally's attention. He looks closely at it, an already pressed button surrounded by a red pulsating dial counting down from sixty to zero, already approaching twenty. Wally's expression freezes in terror when the computer reads it out.

"_SELF-DESTRUCTION SEQUENCE ACTIVATED, T-MINUS 20 SECONDS."_

"Aaaaaaah!" Wally's heart pounds like a jackhammer in his chest, he was going to die! He frantically presses the button, trying to stop the sequence, nothing happens. "Uh-Uh-COMPUTER, DEACTIVATE!! DEACTIVATE IT!!" That doesn't change it either. In desperation, he presses every button he sees, there's got be a way to shut it down. But all it does is launch flares, inflatable rafts, parachutes, windshield wipers; nothing can stop it. The sequence is set in motion and irreversible.

"_DANGER: T-MINUS 10 SECONDS TO SELF-DESTRUCT."_

Wally is beyond terrified; only ten seconds left…Wait! There's still E.V.A., he can jump into space!

"_10…9…8…"_ Faster than he's ever moved before, Wally grabs a Flickinger glove from the spacewalk equipment; he feverishly slips it over his hand and activates it. He grabs a halon fire extinguisher and prepares to exit.

"…_7…6…" _Wait! The plant! Wally whips around and grabs the most important thing he came for. Not bothering to put it in his bag, he dashes for the hatch with the fire extinguisher at the ready; with any luck, he should clear the blast radius in time.

"…_5…4…"_ But luck takes a turn for the worst as Wally can't pry the hatch release open, he pulls with all his might, nothing; he bangs on the hatch with the extinguisher, screaming. No dice, he was trapped inside!

"…3…2…"

* * *

...4000 meters…

Eve's nanosuit has diverted all it's circuital energy to propulsion, her antigrav servos were beyound maximum capacity but she was soaring through space at a thousand meters per second. She's gain on him.

...3000 meters…

Her hope is building as she gets closer and closer.

...2000 meters…

The pod is clearly within a few second's reach.

...1000 meters…

Eve is ecstatic, she can save him. _Yes! Almost there!..._

A flash of bright light stops Eve dead in her tracks. Her eyes went wide in shock and despair when Eve can't believe what she just saw.

The A.E.V. has exploded.

* * *

**Uh oh! Prepare yourselves for the next chapter (to those who haven't seen the film of course). To those who have, it's going to be good;) I hope you all enjoy the idea of the Flickinger Field energy suit based off of Jack McDevitt's _The Engines of God, Deepsix, Omega_, etc. ; for it will be such an important factor for the next chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22: Define Dancing

**Another tasty chapter for being snowed-in for the weekend! And you will see how i mean by 'tasty' as to one of the sweetest moments of the film that some of us have been eagerly waiting for...**

**Disclaimer: I have yet to claim any rights to Wall-E or the patients and copyrights to the Flickinger Field.**

**And so, here it finally is...**

* * *

CHAPTER 22. DEFINE DANCING

Eve remained floating in space several kilometers from the _Axiom_. She was gazing in complete shock and despair at the rapidly dissipated fireball of the destroyed A.E.V., it's oxygen-deprived flames and white-hot debris fading in with the glimmering stars of the Milky Way.

The few seconds she remained shocked seemed to last forever for her, the spectacular view of the surrounding nebula and the distant galaxy couldn't draw Eve out of the disdainful state she was in. She had just witnessed the occupant of that pod get blown to smithereens in an instant. Eve feels a swelling and queasy sensation inside her; like she was punched in the stomach.

She just saw him die; she just saw Wally die right before her eyes.

"No…no…" Eve shook her head in denial; still not believing that this happened. She felt as if her entire universe came crashing down upon her.

She was too late; she wasn't fast enough to catch up and save him. Worse, if she had not conceived the idea of sending him away in that abominable vehicle out of blind anger for problems Wally never caused, and inadvertently left it operational for Gofer to send him off unknowingly; if she wasn't so wrongfully ill-tempered with him to begin with...she would have not sent him to his death.

She continues her way toward the remains of the A.E.V.; still uncertain as if she were still trying to go after him.

Eve spots something white flying in her direction from the debris field. It was somewhat human sized, approaching fast, and it's leaving trails of powdery white crystals in its wake. Eve isn't the least bit concerned for it at the moment other than dodging it to avoid collision.

It whizzes right past her towards the _Axiom_.

_Wait a second. _

Eve flips around when she immediately recognizes something familiar about that flying piece of debris; it was a yellow-suited human with a fire extinguisher as a propulsion device, and was waving a hand at her.

"WALLY!"

She shouts her rejoice inside her Flickinger field, her gut-punching remorse faded away instantly. Wally was alive and well.

...

"EVAH!" Wally shouted in joy and waved as well as he flew past Eve.

She seemed to be calling out to him as if she didn't hear him; neither can he hear her or anything except for the sound of his own breathing. Though he can't hear the voice he treasured so much of her since sound waves cannot travel in the vacuum of space, the very sight of her was comforting enough for after what just happened, he was too happy to see her.

Wally had emerged from the explosion unscathed, he was a bit shell shocked that he narrowly avoided being blown up, managing to open the hatch at the last second. But the moment he saw Eve outside in the vastness, his universe fell right back in place, all was okay.

He was still flying away from her, he let go of the extinguisher's lever to stop, but he kept drifting without slowing down or speeding up. Without anything in the void to move against to turn his body around, he points the extinguisher's hose behind his back. He presses the lever, the propulsive force rockets him right back the way he came; zipping right past Eve again.

He lets go of the lever and points the extinguisher behind himself for a quick burst. It slows him down until he comes to stop; he's surprised on how much movement he can do in space with the extinguisher.

Eve tried catching him too, and yet overshoots; she turns around to see him a few hundred meters away before see could stop in her tracks.

Wally waves at her to stay where she is, and learning of how effective short-controlled burst are of the extinguisher, gently squeezes the lever several times; he did seem to get some excitement out of flying in the vacuum with this simple device, he toys around with it as he navigates his way to Eve.

Just as Wally gets within arms reach of her, he is too preoccupied with the extinguisher as he unintentionally sprays the crystallized white powder at her to slow himself down.

She chuckles slightly at seeing him so happy with such a materialistic object as a fire extinguisher.

Wally plays around with it still, bursting it in several directions, changing his position in zero gravity; he is having lots of fun with it in a new light besides the one he threw away back on Earth.

"Wally." Eve firmly grabs onto his shoulders with both hands to get his attention, their Flickinger fields meld together on contact, now they could hear and touch each other.

To be absolutely sure he was alright, Eve looks over Wally for anything sustained during his escape.

Other than his still-present shakiness, he was otherwise not burned or seriously harmed; thanks to the protective force field he found in the nick of time. Eve sighs in overwhelming relief, like a huge load was lifted off her shoulders, knowing that he wasn't hurt.

At least, not hurt externally just recently.

She notices his fading bloodied nose, the gun-whip bruise on his head and choke-lock marks on his neck. Eve even saw red stained on the side of his coveralls, over a cracked rib which also had a depression bent into his side, over where there was minor bleeding.

For a moment Eve thought how he acquired those painful marks and why Wally had not complained about them. She couldn't fathom these injuries until the adrenaline of this whole EVA of rescuing him faded; slowly, a multitude of memories that came back to her. Starting off with the feelings of shame she felt back in the escape pod launch room. Then she remembers what she did to him back from when they left the Bridge, when he tried to free her from the medical ward, the stand-off in front of the security forces, the turbolift, and their argument in the A.E.V. bay just minutes ago.

She finally remembered that all of Wally's injuries were inflicted by her, out of her anger.

All this time he was telling her the truth that he inculpably followed her around like a lost puppy as he always did, and had never touched the plant he gave her, let alone steal it. But he undeservingly paid for the injustice of Gofer's crimes through Eve herself, by taking out her frustration on physically harming this poor garbage man; and not to mention emotionally, having insulted him and his way life of surviving on Earth. Worst of all, in the escape pod room, she almost took that life from him, nearly murdering him on the spot for standing up for what he rightfully thought he had to say.

A tightness in her throat formed as a wave of overwhelming regret flooded into Eve, and felt something watery forming in her eyes. She never thought she was capable of bringing herself so low, to harm and even consider killing an innocent man for nothing he's done.

"Evah?"

Wally just starred at Eve, wondering why she just looked him over and started to look weird at him. Her looks of relief were replaced with great sadness when she can't seem to speak; she just hovered in front of him, starring back with reflective eyes, lost in her own mind.

Eve pulls Wally toward her, and embraces him around his chest. She buries her face in his shoulder, too ashamed to continue looking at him after remembering everything she did to him.

"Whoa" Wally is surprised by her sudden hug; unlike all the other times of physical contact, she felt very soft, gentle, and did not hurt him this time. In fact, she felt VERY soft and gentle against him; her skin and nanosuit felt smoother than the most malleable natural material. He was even surprised how she avoided paining his rib while holding him tightly. He felt really comfortable and contented in her display of affection, but Eve's apparent grief continued to confuse him.

"Wally…" She spoke quietly while still hiding her face.

"…I… I'm…" Her voice was muffled by her face buried in his shoulder, but the words she spoke sounded crooked, distraught, and trying to get her sentence out of her lumpy throat.

"…I'm sorry…I'm…so sorry."

Wally was even more confused, wasn't she happy to see him alive?

"S-sorry? For what?"

Eve's shame intensified heavily in her heart and mind, while he was totally naïve, he was still innocently unaware of her past actions, for reason's Eve couldn't explain about how he could be so benevolent to just take everything done to him.

"…f-for being so…" She tries to think of the right words to say; to describe overall how she's been acting towards him. Not that it would only be a single-fitting descriptive word Wally could comprehend, but a word in itself could articulate all the terrible treatment she has shown towards him.

"…so…"

Mean, terrible, or awful were too simple. Masochist, gruesome, or overly emotional were too complex. She wishes she could say them all at once; but she wanted to simply but sincerely apologize for her inconsiderate cruelty.

_Inconsiderate. Cruelty_. Well, given that it's hard enough to find one word for it all, it'll have to do.

"…so…inconsiderate...so horrid...so...stupid. I've been such an idiot t-to hurt you so much, Wally…and...I'm truly sorry, that i...almost tried to..tried to..." Eve had to force it out, "...to kill you."

"Wally...forgive me." She finished in a very silent whimper, holding him tighter like a mother protecting her cub. She wanted him to know that she'll never hurt him again.

Wally stayed silent as he felt something wet forming on his shoulder where Eve laid her head on; he then knew that she was crying.

He let what Eve was trying to say sink in as she wept on his shoulder. Eve was upset that she hurt him because she didn't know he was telling the truth that he didn't steel the plant?

Wally countered that thought, there's no need for her to be sad or sorry; he loves Eve, he would never let the burden of begging for forgiveness fall upon her. If anything, it doesn't matter anymore, because they now know that Gofer is the true verdict. Besides, Wally just barely survived a near-death experience, and they should at least be glad to hold each other now at the moment.

_There is no need to forgive. _He just returns her embrace, wrapping his welcoming arms around her narrow shoulders, stroking her long, silky white mane of hair to ease her pain away. To reassure that everything was okay; there is nothing for her to worry about.

Eve felt his hands around her small back, returning her hug and even stroking her hair with great tender care unlike anything she has ever experienced. She was still feeling unworthy of his kindheartedness, but her crying ceased at his gentle touch, knowing that he had silently forgiven her.

Though now that she knew what was happening to both of them, Wally felt disheartened that the majority of Eve's day has been degrading more and more for her ever since she awoke; all the unfortunate chain of misunderstandings and framing have taxed Eve's sanity. Wally was always amazed by the incredibly strong woman Eve was, and seeing her like this, enthralling as it was to see her feminine and human side, his heart couldn't bear to see her breaking down in his arms.

He felt sympathetic for her, wishing for anything that would make her life not so miserable at this very moment...

Wally notices the boot with the plant still clung to a death-grip in his prosthetic hand, his expression goes surprised.

He had completely forgotten that he still had it with him after escaping the A.E.V.

His face changes to a bright grin, he has just answered his own silent request; this ought to banish Eve's sorrow and definitely cheer her up in just an instant.

"Evah, look." He holds the plant out from the embrace to show her.

When Eve peeks out from her buried face, her eyes shoot wide open; gasping in utter disbelief of what she was seeing.

She too, had completely forgotten about the plant as well, already out of her mind when she thought it was incinerated with Wally. But before it came to her that he was still here, so was the plant!

"WALLY!" She instantly took the plant in both hands and placing it in her bio-stasis container, her face once ridden with sorrow now shining with pure joy; all pure joy because of him.

**"OH…THANK YOU!"**

Wally flinches when an overjoyed Eve wraps around his skinny frame in a vise-grip hug, spinning round and around still clutching onto him.

"…THANKYOU!THANKYOU!THANKYOU!THANKYOU!THANKYOU!..."

Wally quickly forgets his fear; he can't believe his luck as Eve can't stop thanking him.

"Aww...your welcome." He returns the tight hug; resting his head on her shoulder. Getting dizzy and elated at the same time as the starlight and violet nebula swirl all around him in zero gravity, he closes his eyes; falling in a state beyond euphoria as he let the radiant scent, smoothness, and warmth of his loved one's happiness fill the rest of his senses.

They stop spinning but remain in a snug embrace. Wally lifts his head up, making eye contact with her beautiful blue ones, not a single trace of her recent sadness could be found. He was further entranced in ecstasy when he takes in the brilliance of her radiant happy face. Her crystal clear irises shone the magnificence of her angelic face enveloped in her white hair, outmatching the astronomical view of the purple stardust clouds around them and the twinkling swirl of the Milky Way galaxy behind her. He was glad to see her happy, the way he wanted her to be.

Eve was out of breath from thanking him; though she thinks she hasn't shown him enough gratitude. He had practically ridded her of her guilt and solved her primary problem of recovering the plant altogether; everything will be alright now that she can complete her directive!

Her lips curl into an alluring smile when she realizes their faces are only a few inches apart; in the spur of the moment, she now had a way to truly show how much she thanks him.

Eve releases Wally from her crushing hug, and raises her delicate hands cup his jaw. Then…leaning forward with eyes closed…

_Huh?_ Wally is taken by surprise. _What is she doi-_

…she presses her lips to his.

…

Wally's mind goes blank, his body freezes like a statue, eye pupils contract to pinpricks, and his heart rate quadruples in just a split second after he feels what he believes is Eve's soft, sweet lips against his own. If he wasn't mistaken, he felt a tiny moan escape from her through their intertwined lips. He faints instantly upon the sensory overloading realization that he had touched the very edge of Heaven.

She had kissed him.

…

After a second or two longer than she thought she liked to have it last, Eve broke free of the kiss; still mere centimeters from Wally's still caressed, frozen-in-time stunned face. Her eyes slowly open as she breathlessly mouths one last "Thank you" in a honeyed tone.

He slides out of Eve's hands, floating in dazzled circles; his minding was running only one thought:

_She Kissed Me!...She Kissed Me!..._

He had been kissed by an angel for such an effect.

Eve thought she heard the sounds of him swooning and what seems to be a pacemaker trying to keep up with his impossibly accelerated heartbeat. She girlishly giggles at the sight; it must've been Wally's very first kiss, and a first kiss from a really pretty young woman like herself.

It's her first as well; and she was glad that she especially saved it for someone who deserved it from her, and would most enjoy it. She did, and so did he, obviously.

She flies over to Wally, trying to shake him out of his comatose-smitten state.

"Wally? WALLY!"

He awakes suddenly, shaking his head to rid of whatever kind of side effects the out of body experience has done on him.

"Are you alright?"

"Um, uh, y-y-yeah!" She's still pleased at the amusing sight of him still regaining consciousness from a simple thank you smooch. Aside from the guilt she felt earlier, this would be a moment she would hold onto forever.

Eve looks back toward the _Axiom_, now that she has the plant, she could head back and personally show the Captain she was telling the truth, that life had been found.

"I think we should go; I'll take you with me." She turns back to Wally, reaching out for him to hang on to her to fly back.

"I think I will fly with you, Eve." Wally brings up the fire extinguisher. "I've always wanted to fly like you."

Pointing it sideways, he presses the lever full; he spirals in accelerating circles and shoots off toward the _Axiom _at high speed. Much like how Eve flew her first joy-flight on Earth.

Eve has never seen him so happy before with his newfound power of flight; he's doing all kinds of directions with the extinguisher, he's acting as energetic and ecstatic as a child on Christmas morning. She laughs as she gives chase to his movements; headed in every direction _but_ back into the ship. Eve finds it too thrilling to ignore flying around with him, and far more thrilling than flying on Earth.

She shrugs off her need to get back to the Captain; they have all the time in the universe, with no more escapades, arrests, or directives to worry about at the moment. She kicks up her antigrav boots to match the speed of his extinguisher; it's time to have a little fun with him.

"Wooooohoooooo!"

Wally ran the extinguisher at full blast during a loop, feeling the adrenaline and magic of flight run through him. He never dreamt of being so free to move about in any direction as he pleases, never believing it to exist as much as he once thought beauty never existed before he first laid eyes on Eve. And now, because of her, here he is zipping through space with the freedom of doing anything he ever wanted, possible or impossible, like some kind of deity.

He sees Eve already catching up to him with a playful smile on her face. His smile grows wider as he does a couple barrel rolls, daring Eve to follow him; which she mimics his every move without flaw, it is time to have some good fun with her.

As they approach the great starliner, Wally and Eve eye the massive dimensions of the ship's numerous systematic structures along its hull. The exact same smile and though come across them, they now have their own obstacle course in space and all a lot more fun handed to them.

Wally and Eve sped along the ventral surface of the ship, surfing around communication antennas, umbilical servicing tunnels, and engineering spires. Contour trails of white crystals and blue light twist and twirl as they acrobatically dodge the symmetrical extensions of the _Axiom's _superstructure; racing one another aft, towards the starship's massive ion-drive engines. They swim in between enormous fountains of flames from the thruster nozzles flashing on and off, constantly keeping the ship on course. The seductive glow of white-purple plasma baths Wally and Eve with matching light against the star sprinkled pink nebula.

They make their way up along the _Axiom_'s port side. Eve shot straight up past the main observation decks like a rocket, with Wally doing ellipses around her blue wake. Eve sees him creating vortex of white powder behind her and catching up to her.

She executes the same move as he, creating a double corkscrew; they look at each other in total bliss as they rhythmically swirled together, as if they were dancing. The moment of them space-flying together was something truly special to behold. More than that...

...

"…so many stars…"

Mary sat in her hoverchair, gazing in awe and wonder at the surrounding starfield from one of the _Axiom_'s many wide-view observation decks. She was the only one of thousands of people in the corridor actually observing the stars. Everyone else behind her is too preoccupied in their digital realms of holoscreens, traversing back and forth to their meaningless destinations. She is also the only out of the ordinary thing sticking out of what's usual activity on the _Axiom_; no holoscreen, default red jumpsuit, off-track hoverchair, and fully aware of her surroundings. She hadn't travelled far from the Lido Deck to here, but she drank in every image in saw inside the _Axiom to here_, and it felt like she explored as much as an entirely new world.

All because of…ah, she can't remember the name of the strange yellow suited man she met a few hours ago, but she wanted to say thanks for showing her all this.

Some movement among the starfield catches her eye. A very pretty white suited young lady leaving a trail of blue light doing twirls with a messy, yellow suited man leaving a powdery trail were whizzing in circles outside.

"Ooh!" _That's very same messy, yellow suited man!_ "Hey! That's what's his name!—"

She got so excited she backed up into some blonde-haired man's hoverchair, Jon's hoverchair.

"Look! Look outside!"

He felt the bump but remained oblivious to the sight she was pointing and yelling to. She seriously wants other people to see what she saw; even with all the great spectaculars around her, she wanted to share those memorable sights with others. Specifically someone close, considering the loneliness she developed after seeing everybody so shut off from her.

For the first time since she could remember, she stretches out of her chair to Jon's keyboard armrest, disabling the holoscreen functions. "Hey, What the!—"

"Look at that!" She points to Wally and Eve. "Huh?" Jon's eyes try to refocus on where the woman was pointing after the rude awakening. But he does regain awareness of immediate surroundings, enough to make out the familiar face of the strange man he encountered earlier today.

"Hey! I know that guy! It's uh, ummmm…." He thinks hard, trying to recall the name of the man from his first incident of falling out of the holoscreen dream world.

"Wally! That's it, Wally!"

"Hey, Wally! Hi!" Jon and Mary wave excitedly at their strange friend; finding that seeing him outside the ship, without a space suit, and spacewalking with a beautiful female E.V.R.E. scout was something very more notable to remember today than the daily norm.

They wave until Wally and Eve disappear from sight, heading toward the bow of the ship. Jon sets his hand down on top of his arm rest, ready to continue the day; but instead, his rests on top of something unexpectedly soft. Mary felt it too when her sense of touch registered a manly hand rested upon her own, completely drawing her attention to the man she pulled aside to witness the intriguing sight with her.

They both make eye contact when they felt the touch; both were completely dumbfounded for words. They each regard each other as someone they seemed to long for. Having not seen a real person outside a holoscreen, and unlike the simulated holo-dates, they have no idea what to say.

"H-Hi." Jon lets the word escape, breaking the awkward silence. Mary feels relieved, returning the introduction. "Hi."

Now she has someone to show everything she has seen; someone as awake and conscious as herself.

...

...As Wally and Eve danced their way up the longitudinal axis of the ship, nothing else mattered to them; not their directives, or what events have transpired of the day, they just savor the euphoria. They no longer felt bound by the laws of reality; their total insignificance against the forever expansion of the violet void didn't seem to apply for Wally and Eve, actually feeling quite the opposite.

Two, completely different human beings with each other outside in deep space, beyond the farthest reaches of the galaxy, surrounded by the greatest awe-inspiring and most beautiful interstellar creations of the cosmos, all of it, felt as if it was Wally and Eve's personal dance floor that belonged especially to them.

In this moment, the entire universe around them was theirs, and only theirs.

The glimmering Milky Way served as their spotlight, the infinite stars as their audience, and the _Axiom_ as the stage. Their movement through the dark quietness of space was the orchestra to their dance that only they could hear and savor. It was something that made Wally and Eve no longer feel so humble.

They danced like a King and Queen.

...

By himself on the Bridge, Commander Auto busied himself with recalibrating the _Axiom'_s internal atomic chronometer, completely unaware of Lieutenant Eve and that 'Wally' spacewalking outside the viewport.

After the Captain's lateness for the morning address and reversal of daytime, he had to reset it to default; shifting the internal clocks exactly 3 hours, 1 minute, and 43 seconds forward to the appropriate default if left unaltered by the Captain.

He slides his finger across the touch-sensitive dial, sliding the current date's summer solstice based daytime setting to night, stopping at exactly _2119:16 hours_ or 9:19:16 PM GMT.

Upon cue, the entire interior of the _Axiom_ adjusts immediately to simulating nighttime atmosphere; darkened sky, city lights shining, even the _Buy N' Large_ logoed artificial sun vanishes over starboard 'horizon' and a logoed crescent moon appears on the other side.

With that task done, there is nothing crucial left to do besides prepare the Captain for tomorrow's routines and man the helm again.

Nothing much has happened in the Bridge since the marshaled Lieutenant Eve and Wally were sent to the medical center, save for riot control calls, a faulty reading for an ejected A.E.V. and a repair alert on one of the starboard side strobe lights. But he remained primarily focused on steering the ship for almost all day; as he has everyday, throughout his career.

He had been doing this kind of daily thing ever since he first set foot on the command deck in his younger years, freshly graduated from training as the _Axiom's_ most distinguished cadet to become first officer. He was sworn in with Captain McCrea as the 6th command crew after the passing of the _Axiom's_ 5th Captain, O'Brien in 2775.

He doesn't mind this kind of ever repetitive routine he has followed for several years; in fact he _lives_ through exact followed routine and procedure. He made the complete maintenance, functionality, order, and control of the executive _BnL_ vessel for the lives of the crew and passengers in the absence of the superior officer his personal responsibility. And he always took his duty as Second-In-Command seriously.

To others, he took it too seriously. Having no personal life, never separated from the command center unless it was a dire emergency (which was never), and never socializing with his peers or even his fellow crewmembers; always speaking to others thoroughly rational if only he was spoken to and if it was of any importance to him or the duty at hand. People often regarded him as unfeeling, totally duty-minded, and robotic at times. The latter assumption was most fitting to his personality because he seemed to be part of the ship, never slacking his disciplined composure and professionalism even when he was alone, and talked like he was a living-breathing supercomputer.

That's how he received his unofficial nickname from the noncommissioned crew: '_Auto the Autopilot'._

With one last thing that he can do before manning the primary control column, he heads down to the Captain's quarters before taking the helm for the night...

...McCrea's room was dimly lit, but his holographic computer screen was brightly overflowed with hundreds upon hundreds of smaller screens filled images and information, flooding the quarters with multicolored light.

Each square held anything Earth related. The Captain had completely lost himself in his inquiry about as much of humanity's home planet as he could digest; starting from Earth itself, learning about each of its topographical surface features, to the composure of its biosphere, the ecology sustained, agriculture, farming, feeding, the sociological aspects, crops, barns, BBQ, and to the subject currently in question from this research topic: hoedown.

"Computer, define: 'hoe-down.'" A new screen appeared on the already littered holographic projection, showing an Appalachian folk festival.

"'_HOEDOWN' – A TPYE OF RURAL AMERICAN ORGINATED SOCIAL GATHERING WHERE LIVELY DANCING AND FOLK MUSICAL EVENTS TAKE PLACE." _

The elevator doors chime open and Auto strides in, Captain McCrea is ecstatic to show him everything he has learned. The Commander stands at attention as the Captain happily tells him everything like an excited schoolchild visiting a museum.

"Auto! Earth is amazing! I've looked up the planet and look what I found!"

Auto stayed silent.

"These are called 'farms'. Humans would put some kind of seeds in the ground, _pour water over them_, and they grow food! Like, like….Pizza!"

"That's sounds of great interest, Captain." He answered with the lack of tone as much as the lack of his just said statement.

"However, it is already 2130 hours and I highly recommend that you get your rest for tomorrow morning's ship-wide announcements at 0930, should we avoid any other time interval resettings like that transpired today, Sir."

McCrea had completely forgotten the passage of time, it's night already after what seemed like minutes of research, just when he was actually doing something new and wonderful. But he has a routine to follow.

"Agh, oh alright." Less than disappointed, the Captain reluctantly deactivates the holoscreen. "Night, Auto."

"Sleep well, Captain." Auto returns to the elevator and returns to the Bridge.

_Wait a sec'_ McCrea halted his hoverchair from going into sleep mode. _What's 'dancing'?_

The Captain's brain is too active with inquisitiveness for him to turn in, so he heads back to his console; to continue feeding his inquisitive mind. It doesn't matter if he's late tomorrow, and late for what? The same thing all over again?

He'll just do what he did today, besides; he is the Captain, he doesn't have to go to bed if he doesn't want to.

_It's the second thing I get to do on this ship._ He grinningly thought.

"Pssst, Computer…" It reactivates at the Captain's whisper, keeping everything down so Auto can't hear-

_Eh, forget it! Auto won't complain. _

He asks in a normal tone. "…define: dancing."

Meanwhile, he doesn't notice the contour trails of Wally and Eve doing said research topic just outside his external viewport...

"…'_DANCING' – A SERIES OF EXPRESSIVE ART FORM BODY MOVEMENTS, USUALLY INVOLVING TWO PARTNERS, WHERE SPEED AND RHYTHM MATCH HARMONIOUSLY WITH MUSIC…_

_..._

Wally didn't know how long the moment lasted; the space dance with a rejoiced Eve was bliss and beautiful unlike anything he has ever experienced. The sensations were almost too powerful for him to not acknowledge that he isn't moving in the direction he wanted to with Eve.

He pressed the lever to the extinguisher at full blast, but he's disappointed to see it has already out of foam to spray.

_Time sure flew. _And now he's drifting helplessly away from the _Axiom_, the magic of the moment he felt have all but faded in an instant, feeling the dead calm sink back into him; before Eve's force field comes into contact with his.

"Don't worry, Wally, I gotchya." Her slender arms catch Wally by his sides. Upon the sight and sensation of Eve close to him was all it took for Wally to feel warmth run through him again, back in the arms of his love.

"Want to go back?" She asks indirectly to Wally while finding another way back inside the _Axiom_.

"Not really."

Eve smiles at Wally's euphoric need to stay out in space and dance forever. She enjoyed it too, unlike the many times she flew over other worlds. But now she has a plant to return.

"Alright, let's go." She holds onto him tight as they fly down the lower hull towards an open maintenance airlock.

Burnie, a lone electron welder was occupied with singing to himself as he rigged a replacement strobe light along the ship's external railing.

It had been a frustrating day for this fellow so far, with so many distractions and mishaps happening that made him mess up several fusings with the lights. This was the last replacement he had to work with, so he is taking his time and relaxing the tension of his stressful work with a little _Beethoven_ resounding through his pressure suit.

The hatch behind suddenly closed behind before he finished the last note to _Ode to Joy_, and the last touch to the weld.

"Huh?" He depolarizes his face plate to see two blurry figures seal the airlock off, and him outside.

"Hey!" He abandons his work, sprinting to the hatch as fast as his magnetic boots will allow. "Let Me In! LET ME IN!" He pounds harder and harder on the door, no answer. The supplier depot deep inside the tunnels can't hear him, and whoever snuck in didn't want to be discovered.

"Aaaaagh!" He pounds his whole body against the hatch in frustration, and leans against the hull in defeat; the depot won't respond to him unless he's finished with his work, and now he's locked outside, having forgot to bring any means of electric communication with the inside, his CO2 filters in need of repair, no food or water, and no other access point to get back in.

"Not again!" How is he going to get back to the supplier _this_ time?

**I would kill to receive a kiss from such a beautiful woman like Eve...(sigh)...**

**But, that's why i have this story to write! I can at least imagine it though. **

**Thank you Jack McDevitt, author of **_**The Engines Of God**_** for the invention of the Flickinger Field! This scene was too beautiful to be done with ordinary pressure suits, and thank you SevenStar for getting me into the search for the most important thing to include in the writing for the realistic human version of Wally and Eve's first kiss in space. **

**In short: I hope you loved it. **

**Feel free to Read & Review if you want to. More warm and fuzzy chapters soon!**

**B.T.W. to all fellow aviation enthusiasts like myself who read this fanfic, Happy Wright Brother's Day. **


	23. Chapter 23: The Lido Deck

**Upon request of John Bone and with plenty of caffine to write at 2 am PST, here's another short chapter for ya:) Plus a little JonXMary.**

* * *

CHAPTER 23. THE LIDO DECK

"_THE LIDO DECK IS NOW CLOSING…"_

The pleasant feminine voice of the ship's A.I. sounds throughout the forward decks of the interior, its 10 PM GMT and time to shut everything down in the first class resorts; the holographic trees, lights, and luxury stands deactivate for the night.

"…_THE LIDO DECK IS NOW CLOSING…"_

The maglev pathlines change from any certain direction all back towards the living quarters. Everyone's hoverchair poolside follows the lines. Though they aren't aware of it, as always, they file out for the night, ready to sleep in the same state of awareness they already are.

All except for the default color suited passengers how are actually _in_ the still-lit pool. Well, not literally, still in their chairs hovering over the water; but splashing each other, de facto using the pool.

Jon and Mary hit it off as soon as they left the observation deck, with Mary showing Jon everything she has seen, just as equally fascinated at the realistic things he never knew existed around him as much as she did. They talked about how they meet Wally, and how much that in the few minutes or seconds their encounters lasted, he had drastically altered their view of the world surrounding them.

They were amazed at seeing a look at the opposite gender in the real world. Sure they had been on their own dates before, over the holoscreen network of course. But up close and personal, seeing the three dimensional beauty of other humans, with each other outside the world they know, this was something far too new and wonderful.

They ended up venturing over the pool water; becoming entranced at the sensation of the cool liquid on their legs. Mary splashes water on Jon, causing him to giggle at the cold sensations. Mary teases him with another splash.

"hahey, stop that!"

"Make me!" Mary gets splashed this time, Jon playfully trying to drench her as well as fell the fresh water all over him. "I didn't know we had a pool!"

"_NO SPLASHING, NO DIVING." _An automated lifeguard post called out to Jon and Mary, ruining the fun they were having. Only then they realize that everyone else was turning in. They look at each other for a moment, a smile crossing both their faces.

"Ah! Forget you!" They both splash the automated guard.

"_NO SPLAS_—" It fizzles and dies from the shortened circuitry. Jon and Mary don't want to mess up the shared moment for the sake of turning back to the boring routine everybody else follows. They laughed as they drenched one another again.

* * *

Eve opens the crew access doors quietly as she can, they were only a hundred yards away from the Bridge; with everybody gone, she can get to the Bridge lobby elevator undetected.

"Come on." She whispers to Wally, hiding behind her.

They covertly keep their heads low as they dash for the command center entrance. Eve sees movement approaching them from the lobby. "Crap!" she hissed under her breath. She grabs Wally, sharply banking for the nearest hiding spot. Conveniently, they make it towards a pool yard storage room. It automatically slides open and closed for them, sealing them from being seen. The room is dimly lit, the sight and scent of freshly washed, unused beach towels fills the air. Eve switches the doors inside control settings to manual, cracking the door ever so slightly to take a peek.

The bad news was that there stood two stewards on patrol outside the main entrance. The worse news, the holographic screens displayed on the walls still showed her rogue human snapshot. Eve's frustration returned, remembering now that she and Wally are still wanted criminals.

_Great. _Now they were stuck here, still have a few yards to get to the entrance, and yet, how to deal with the guards before raising the alarms?

_So…Plan B is to…_ her thoughts formulate several scenerios all the while keeping an eye outside.

_Kill them?_ No, she would be thrown to the brig for life, no matter how much the plant meant to Command. _Subdue them?_ Wouldn't work either, they'd raise the alarm by the time their distressed voices in a fight get over their COMs. _How about sneaking a way in?…_

_..._

Wally stayed quietly by Eve's side as she kept an eye out. His mind had been wondering about what to do now after the very special spacewalk he had experienced with Eve just moments ago. She had shown him total happiness, kissed him, and shared the most romantic E.V.A. one could imagine. A complete turnaround from the unfortunate events of today, especially after coming within a second from being blown up, and Forthwright knows what might happen next.

He looks down at her limp hand, and to his own clasped hands; he could almost fell the presence of her slender fingers between his own, a gesture of love he had longed to forever keep since he first shyly tried it with her back on Earth. This time however, he wasn't worried of the woman he feared that would certainly kill him on the spot; and after their special moment outside, Eve must've felt as longing for him as much as he does for her.

Given the immediate circumstances, he was alone with an open Eve in a very peaceful and soothing place, the perfect environment to convey his heart to her without threat of chaos or death from anything else, along from her. It felt like the time to finally seize the moment he journeyed so far for.

_Yes, now is the time to tell her I love her. _Now he just needs to bring out the very song that taught him how to do so.

Taking a deep breath, sending confidence throughout his entire composure, he grabs the cassette player strapped to his belt, and presses the play button without hesitation.

...

_Wait,_ Eve spots a disposal conduit just to the side of the lobby. If she guessed correctly, it should connect to every ascending or descending level of the ship, all the way down to the garbage depot and all the way up the command tower_…straight up to the Captain's quarters!_ Now she won't have to worry about the guards, now all that's left she has to do is just to-

"…_it oooonly, takes a moment…"_ a voice singing with a soft tune with slight static echoed inside the storage room; gasping, Eve almost froze in terror. _What's that sound?!_

She whips around to see Wally holding his hands in front of himself, the sound is music from his ancient cassette player.

"Evah…I j-just want to say that...I...uh...uh..." He can't get the words _I love you_ out, the task of his resolution turning impossible almost, easier said then done. But the opportunitys' slipping away, he forces it all out.

"...that I love you. W-Will you hold my hand?" He holds his calloused left hand out to her, his nervous voice sounding sweet and pleading.

_What did he just say?? _Eve's mind froze between surprise and bafflement, completely at a lose for words. He loved her? the words slowly sank into her mind, but she is taken aback by the background music, its loud enough to give away their position.

"N-n-NO!" just below a hushed yell, she shoves his hand out of the way to shut off his cassette player. Wally's heart felt pierced, did she just flat-out reject him?

"E...uh...Huh? But—" She silences him. "SHHHH, Quiet! They might find us."

Sneaking another look outside, the guards didn't move. Now, back to how she can get up to the Bridge, she's going to have to keep Wally out of sight. She rifles through the stacks of towels, making enough room for him to sit down and hide under them should anybody come in this room. Wally's words echoed in her head, but she has to finish the job, still have to concentrate laser-like on getting to the Captain; she'll ponder about Wally's words later.

"Okay listen, whatever it is you want to tell me, you must stay right here until I get back." She sternly forces Wally on the floor to hide with the towels, she points sharply to where he sat. "That means I don't want you to leave this room, no matter what happens until I return after finishing my directive, do you understand?"

Wally only nods before he could respond further, for Eve quickly makes her move to slip past the guards' view when she dashes out of the door and stealthily across the deck, to the opening of the garbage conduit. Taking a deep breath to prevent herself from gagging, she slides into the garbage chute, activating her antigrav boots and flying straight up to the Captain's quarters.

Wally is left alone with his thoughts, this was the second opportunity to hold her hand to have slipped away from him. This time, he felt totally dejected by Eve's reaction; but he understood what she meant thought, he didn't know they were still trying not to be captured. He wasn't exactly pleased with how he just blurted it all out, he has to tell her in the most heartfelt way. But when she's all done with everything she has to do...

…_I guess…I'll just wait here…_

* * *

**And there you go, glad that i got that finished in one night and i hope it wasn't too short for you; i can now concentrate on the most important part of the story... the love between Eve and Wally to finally flow through each other. **

**stay tuned for Chapter 24!**


	24. Chapter 24: It Only Takes A Moment

**First and foremost, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! As i dedicate this chapter to the 24th of december and the lovely character, Eve!...And of course, to all and all.**

**Another longly awaited, juicy chapter for the heartmelting film; one i have kept in my head, awaiting to write it ever since i first published the fanfic. Believe me, it took _ALOT_ of editting and word chosing for Eve, so i hope it's really good for you.**

**Disclaimer: I _TOTALLY_ wish Wall-E was my movie, as an Xmas gift; but...copyrights are law, and the movie isn't mine to own. Ever. At least the Xmas plea was worth a try.**

* * *

CHAPTER 24. _IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT_

The Earth seemed a lot cleaner in the backdrop of blackness as the _Axiom_ approaches it. Somehow, its atmosphere and landmasses were deeply cleansed to which it reflects the Axiom itself…along with the big, fat fingers of certain whooshing captain holding the _Axiom_.

"Prepare for landing." McCrea mimics his voice over a pretend radio, the rocket engine sounds of the miniature model of the ship touching down with screeches of landing gear tires on the scale globe of Earth against his viewport. By himself in his quarters, he let his mind childishly wondering about the prospect of returning to Earth, regardless of missing bedtime; he enjoyed it as a child, and he still does.

"We're here everybody!" He keeps his voice to low yet playful pretend voices between his point of view and 2nd person standpoints of cheering passengers.

"Yay, Captain, We're home! It's so beautiful, oh thank you!" "Oh, no it's nothin' I was pleased to do this. It's all about you people, it's not about me, it's—"

His holographic computer console pings, drawing his attention from playing pretend. He hovers over to the console with the globe and toy starliner still in hand, a new square hovering over his pictures of Earth research shows a newly written message from the medical ward:

**X-AxMEDFAC.1.0—B. McCREA, CPT. Ax. IE: WALLY **

Now the Captain was drawn to the new information, he just remembered earlier of Auto sending the strange man 'Wally' to the medical ward for identification, and cleaning.

He opens the file, reading it all to himself.

_**BnLS AXIOM MESSAGING ORDER 011931-12**_

_**Priority code: Green**_

_**From: Axiom Medical Clinic and Evaluation Center**_

**_To: B. McCrea, Captain, BnLS_ Axiom**

_**Subject: 'Wally'**_

_**Classification: Private**_

_**Upon order of Commander Auto, the evaluation laboratory has performed a complete genetic profile identification of the patient known as 'Wally', even in the light of today's Code 5150 outbreak. After extraction and analysis of necessary **__**deoxyribonucleic acid**__** (**__**DNA**__**)**__** samples, we have discovered that no record exists of him within any of the **_**Axiom**_** computer's passenger or crew DNA manifests, nor does he exist within any genetic database in the **_**Axiom's **_**records. **_

_**However, diagnostics did come to the following conclusions of the individual 'Wally' upon searching through the Buy N' Large historical archives, specifically of Operation: Cleanup. PCR analysis maps out his gene pool ancestry to a family tree located within BnL Cleanup Sector North America zero, zero, one, known as Burtt, which were among the 200,000,000 preselected laborers to continue the global operation. All further historical information for the Burtt descendents has ceased upon the date of June 27**__**th**__** 2110.**_

'_**Wally', his surname is by heir if not birth name as - Wallace Burtt. **_

_**The only other information available for 'Wally's' known physiology extracted from his genetic mapping samples are as follows:**_

_**Estimated Date of Birth: June 28**__**th**__** 2775.**_

_**Blood type: A-**_

_**Tissue samples of skin show externally solar-bleached pigmentation, indicating prolonged and cancerous exposure to ultraviolet radiation levels from unfiltered sunlight. **_

_**Multitude of granulation scar tissue from abrasions, continual blister and callus buildup and infection, puncture wounds, compound fractures, deep gashes, and 2**__**nd**__** to 3**__**rd**__** degree burn tissue; along with bacterial infected wounds from improper healing to exposure to foreign bodily contaminants, including his right forearm limb and cardiovascular prosthetics from poor treatment.**_

_**Biochemical analysis from blood samples indicate unhealthful malnutrition, very low-blood sugar content and near-emaciation zero body fat levels. Subject also contains a diminished immune system having survived various strains of extinct viruses such as malaria, pneumonia, smallpox, hepatitis, and influenza; worse yet is the blood toxicity scan and it is overwhelming with concoctions of alodine, potassium chloride, lead, and cadnium with metallic content exceeding 5%, blood poisoning levels. Red blood cell oxygenation patterns also suggest presence of carbon monoxide, sulfur, and ozone residue within his respiratory system that he's been breathing for extremely prolonged periods of time. It's unbelievable that he hasn't succumbed to any of these chemical posionings mixed together.**_

_**Retinal cortex scan of cerebral functions have shown indications of intensive neural scarring from post-traumatic stress and nociceptor dampened from extreme amounts of physical pain and(or) witness of extreme traumatic events. Signs of cognitive interaction crossfiring were detected, yet strange as it seems as it is only seen in cases of depersonalization with the interuption of thought-intigration, but the patient expresses no realization of such faults. Presumably this reaction may be possible from prolong periods of total isolation, abuse, and a lack of any parental caring or nursering during early childhood to ongoing has made him unable to emote or express the trauma he experienced in the most prodimant signs as psychologically traumatized patients would, even though no physical symptoms are given. Instead he has ended up with a regressed mindset, like that of a child; constituting Wallace Burtt as borderline 'feral child'.**_

_**Our most logical assumptions to the state of Wallace Burtt is in could be a Dissociation disorder due most likely given the circumstances of his upbringing. As impossible as his origins sound, it makes sense with having to grow up on Earth and surviving harsh environmental hazards and from experiencing total abuse to total isolation from any socal interaction for a period as long as several years, quite possibly most of his lifetime.**_

_**Although Wallace is not a registered passenger, nor a person that legally exists in any record, we highly recommend he is given immediate treatment for everything we have diagnosed from him. For no human being should have ended up the way he is now. So should he be found once the Evaluation Center's patients have all been re-acounted for, please send him to us for a prognosis. **_

_**We hope this information is of value to you, Sir.**_

The Captain sat there in thought for moment, processing all the information about Wally, aka 'Wallace', about the man who sparked his curiosity of Earth. Yet as interesting his information may seem, he is puzzled as to how the most advanced government of humanity couldn't keep track of any information for almost seven centuries just for the past of garbage collecting descendents. Now that he knows of all the physical details of Wallace's being and physiology, it tells him a little something about how Wally lived on Earth; but something that doesn't make sense.

All his feral lifestyle, his injuries, his unhealthy mental and physical state, and the like; something about it doesn't quite fit the picture or perspective of how life is on Earth compared to how he researched it.

_If Wally is from Earth, from the same area that E.V.R.E. explored, then how could he live like that?_

The trash chute in the corner flies of its hinges as Lieutenant Eve busted out of the disposal conduit. She lets all of her breath out now she is free from the filthy line.

The Captain nearly jumped out of his hoverchair, he turns around to be stunned by her sudden and unexpected appearance.

"Lieutenant Eve?"

"Captain, I Found It!" Eve hastily salutes before she holds the seedling planted in the boot out of the bio-stasis canister. "I have the plant! I was telling you the truth; I have found photosynthesizing life on Earth."

The Captain is at first, dumbfounded and slow to comprehend, but his expression grows to great levels of awe. "How…" He drops the globe and toy ship in his hands. "C-Can I see it? How did you find it?" He hovers over to Eve, reaching out to see like a child awaiting a long awaited treat.

"It's a long story, but I have it." She proudly hands him the plant, who is beyond amazed to further ask Eve about her journey to get it, too stunned and excited by the sight of the plant and the realization of what it means.

"We can go back home, for the first time!" That meant Earth, and upon that thought, his curiosity about it returns. "Oh! What's it like now?"

"Sir?"

"You know, Earth, how green is it? What's the soil and the seas like?"

"uh…" Eve isn't sure how to answer what see explained earlier on the Bridge. Though she had proof Earth is habitable, it doesn't change the fact that it is as it is, desolate.

"…uuuum, well, sir, its—" The Captain cuts her off. "Nonono, don't tell me!" he excitingly hovers over to his console with Eve following in uncertainty. "I wanna see for myself, let's see the footage."

Eve knew what he meant, but she's sure he isn't going to like it. She reluctantly removes her tiny camcorder, a device the size of pencil eraser hidden behind her COM earpiece that can visually and audibly record thousands of hours of her expeditions from her point of view. The Captain eagerly takes the camcorder and plugs it into the console, the holoscreen projection full of Earth research and Wally's data is minimized with the overlapping footage, beginning from the moment Eve is reanimated from her cryopod.

Upon scanning her surroundings, the Captain's smile lessened as the images of the desolate wasteland come into view. A lessened smile that turns into a look of disturbed confusion as more even desolate wastelands and polluted sky come into view from watching the Reconnaissance Vehicle launch.

"Wait, that doesn't look like Earth." They watch her joy flight, seeing a full view of the desert landscape and the remnants of Sector _NA-001_.

"I'm afraid it is Earth, Sir." She fast forwards from her plasma blasting a rock to her roaming the littered city of New York, scanning everything in her sight, making brief glimpses at the brown daylight.

"But…w-where's the blue sky?" Everything he sees trash brown, desert brown, and more polluted brown as far as Eve could see. "Where's the grass?" He looks to the screen's side to see the exact opposite perspective he postulated upon his research of Earth, all the beautiful lush green, clear skies and soft fertile ground; all of it isn't real. This only confirmed his questions after reading Wally's supposed information of surviving Earth, his worst uncertainties realized.

Eve notices the Captain's distain, skipping the footage of first contact with Wally. "Like I've said before, Captain, the planet is technically habitable, but as you can see, its overall environmental condition is extremely poor."

McCrea's heart sunk, as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't turn down the evidence of her trip before him. His dream, his every imagination of proudly and ceremoniously landing on their home planet was destroyed; with no other explanation, he slumps in his chair, unable to coop with this demoralizing information.

"I found the plant within Wally's home; he must've discovered it first before he gave it to me." She fast forwards to meeting Wally and their time together in his home, to draw away the Captain from his depression, only failing to lighten his spirits when a fantasy has been shattered to fragments. Eve plays the moment Wally presents her his prized _Hello Dolly_ film.

"…_Put On Your Sunday Clothes, There's Lots Of World Out There!..."_

At least music was all it took to get his attention. "I know that song. They're…uh…" McCrea leans closer for a look at the performers doing some kind act he remembers.

"Dancing. Yeah, dancing!" And at least music was all it took to draw a smile on the Captain's face.

_Oh, a good song to feel alive to…_

He realizes he is tapping with the rhythm to the song, a song to feel alive throughout, indeed. He lifts the boot in his other hand, marveling at how such a weak, simple seedling as this could survive so much hell to come out this far.

"You made it somehow, eh little guy? You didn't give up, did you?"

A single leaf falls off the stem; McCrea's heart skips a beat, seeing the plant slowly come apart. He tries fruitfully to somehow reattach the leaf to the plant's stem. It appears to be dying and needs a nourishment of some—

"Wait a minute, water!" he hovers quickly to the nearest faucet.

* * *

Now that Eve is by herself, she continues to watch the footage while letting her mind wonder. The recording projected the images of Wally showing her around his home and how to dance, only ending up flying across his home with a black eye.

She couldn't help but let out a giggle whenever the garbage collecting weirdo did anything amusingly clumsy she witnessed. Though she was empathetic to him for a while, every time he followed her around with those large lost-puppy-eyes, he only ended up unintentionally hurting himself, but he continued to follow her as if nothing happened; it always somehow brought out a laugh in Eve. He is such a child-like nuisance so accident-prone it made him just too adorable to watch.

Eve glances over the Captain's holoscreen to see the minimized message from the Ward, regarding Wally and his genetic profiling.

It got her attention, suddenly surprised that there was free information about him; despite what she had gathered from what she has seen about him, she had yet to learn more about the garbage man in question whose been drastically making life interesting.

Her curiousity got the better of her. She lets the video run as she indiscreetly opens the files and starts reading everything the Captain read. His ancestral background, his forgotten given name, health history, and all his known or unknown information.

Her interest in 'Wallace' suddenly grew, re-reading each paragraph and forming many questions about him in her mind.

As she read the disturbing parts of how his 'isolation', 'poison', and 'scarred' state of mind and body, Eve's face turns mortified, and riddled with shock and a glint of great sadness.

Despite what little she knew of him other than the fact that he was the last of the cleanup workers on Earth (who knew why that was possible), she never wondered until now about how he lived on that desolate planet, nor how he was affected from it.

Then it came to her that in the amount of time she spent and places she has seen on Earth, she has never encountered anyone else like him. If what Wally's psychological-analysis said was true and what she saw of Earth was true, then he didn't have any family; even if he was accompanied by other workers that mistreated him, he was totally alone for possibly most of his thirty year lifespan, probrably since shortly after birth.

Eve use to think she was lonely and misfortunate sometimes when she was growing up in a cramped starship with people who were feeble minded or jealous of her abilities; but she had friends, and family, no matter how strained or different they were. Now she couldn't possibly imagine what it felt like to be in Wally's skin, who had been brought up living every second of his entire life with absolutely no one. No family, no friends, and at one point with no human contact on an entire world at all to help or care for him; on top of being starved, overworked past slavery as a child, inhaling the very air that was deadly, and surviving for every single day through Forthwright-knows-what was on that planet.

She felt something inside herself tear for how he must have felt of his wounds, prosthetics, diseases, and his feral-child state of mind and body. She proprably wondered if anyone ever cared to watch him when he was born or if he ever knew who his mother and father was or how he managed to survive what others couldn't. She especially wondered what was going through his mind with cleaning up and fighting for survival being everything he knew of his life, and wondered if it was haunting him if he knew he could have had a normal life...

Fate had cheated Wally and all those before him to be stuck on that planet, _**no one **_deserves to be isolated their whole lives and forced to work and live a painful existance without reason.

It sort of explained why he didn't leave her sight, not wanting to loss human contact for a second was understandable. Eve again felt pity and remorse for the times she pointed a gun at him or even thought of possing a threat to him.

He must have been so alone and desperate for human contact that she may have been the first human he had interacted with since as far back as his memory allows, and she was a hair's breath away from sending him to an early grave. It nagged at the back of her mind of how she treated him most of the time, either too drawn to her directive or blind-sightedly blaming him for what he didn't do out of her temper; and yet, he still came back for her. If it was a normal reaction considering hs circumstances, Wally would have been scared any from other human if at all possible, especially her. But he didn't, he kept by her side and never asked for anything in return regardless of what he did for her.

What pondered Eve's mind the most were questions of how and why he has ventured through _so much _pain and suffering just to remain in her presence ever since he first laid eyes on her.

"…_And That Is All…That Love's About…"_

Her expeditionary footage plays the scene of two lover's singing a beautifully soothing song.

"…_And We'll Recall…When Time Runs Out…"_

_"...That It Only...Took A Moment..."_

Eve recognizes the beautiful music from Wally's home; she remembers she was also going through the same thoughts of what she was thinking of Wally's good hearted behavior to her.

_"...To Be Loved...A Whole Life Looonng..."_

As the two lovers hold hands on the projection, there's something familiar about that…

…

_It Only Takes A Moment _plays from his ancient cassette player. "_Evah…I j-just want to say that...I...uh...uh...that I love you. W-Will you hold my hand?"_

…

Wait a minute.

Eve looks down at her hands, slowly interlocking her slender fingers together. The memory of Wally's stirring question sent an epiphany throughout Eve's being; though she haven't gave it much thought since she came here, everything seemed to fall into place as to explain why he seemed to be with her after every ordeal he survived or what Eve put him through. He loved her.

_**SECURITY CAMERA ACTIVATED**_

The screen fades to black after she notices Wally presenting her the plant, then her going into automated cryostasis upon taking the plant from him, completing her directive. The camcorder still runs during suspended animation, capturing everything that happened outside her cryopod before retrieval.

The screen then shows Wally's large eyes in shock, confusion, and worry at the moment after she was frozen.

"…_**Evah?" He taps the pod as if to somehow get her attention. No response. He leans against the pod as if hear for any signs of activity within it. Nothing, just the pulsating green light. **_

"_**Evah?" He panics, shaking the pod to awaken her. Nothing happens.**_

"_**E-E-EVAH!" **_

_**His cries for her echo through the truck, through the storm and through the night as he tries to get a response, she was now just frozen and unresponsive…**_

Now Eve's complete attention was on Wally in the screen. She stood quietly with her hands still interlocked as she intently watched all the days she missed and left Wally alone with her inert body.

…_**So he stood by her side on the bridge, staring at the frozen figure of Eve, waiting for the ice to thaw out and let her go, so he could see her warm open eyes and hear her voice again. He lets those happy results run through his head as he waits patiently…And waits… …and waits… …and waits…**_

Wally never left her sight for a moment as he sat in front of her for an entire day, dehydrated in scorching heat.

Footage of a thunderstorm shows Wally exactly where he stood, by her side holding an umbrella over her pod, feebly but selflessly protecting her all through the stormy night, fighting sleep deprivation and in the face of lightning strikes; Eve felt truly amazed that he set aside the risks of falling ill, getting exhausted, or electrocuted for the sake of her own safety.

The next clip showed him draping his only blanket around her, and offered his warm survival food to her encased form; he was comforting her against the deep cold. He shivered in the freezing air, starving, tired, soaked, and still sweetly watching over her; even through the ensuing sandstorm, he was unconcerned of being buried alive while he protected her.

She even admired his attempts to revive her, using the power from his own pacemaker, his attempts failed, but he at least tried. It showed how just how far he is wiling to go for her, giving her life from his own life support systems.

Eve's blue eyes soften; she had no idea of what happened after she shut him off, and how much Wally endured the deadly weather for her well-being. She wouldn't have lasted more than a day in any of those conditions, even in the confines of her cryopod. In fact, if she had not met Wally on the day he brought her to his 'home' and showed her the plant, she would've been stuck in the sandstorm, lost and probrably dead. He took her in, and sheltered her from the storm out of the goodness in his heart.

Eve felt deeply touched in a place in her heart she never knew existed, it was more than just extreme gratitude; no matter what Mother Nature threw at Wally, he never, ever, left his spot by her side out in the open, protectively and lovingly caring for her for 11 days and 11 nights; struggling against his own health and directive's neglect. He didn't care about himself, he cared for Eve and Eve only; she was the only thing that meant so much to him.

The security camera showed the images of him adorning her in colorful Christmas lights, Eve was completely smitten with Wally politely treating her like a lovely lady and taking her on a romantic activity what presumably was a 'date'. It was all crude, given the circumstances he was given on that world, but she loses herself in the sweetness of his efforts of setting it all up just for her; from taking her out to a makeshift fancy diner, to a rowboat ride, and finally to the harbor bench where Wally laser-etched their names in a heart, overlooking the sunset. Even when recorded on a hologram, the radiant red of the twilight rays through the polluted haze was the most beautiful sunset she ever saw, and it was all because of him, because of his love.

Wally places his hand on her pod's chassis, over the spot where her hand was; his large innocent grey eyes were pleading her to awaken, to see what he saw, and feel what he feels. It hit her that this was the meaning of the gesture he had been dying to share with her.

"…_**I love you." Though frozen, he breathlessly pours his heart out to her stasis form, his puppy dog eyes reflecting the longing he felt…**_

Eve's eyes became sheets of glass, on the brink of tears upon hearing those three words from the very core of his honest being; she felt like her heart was going to burst.

She pauses the image of Wally caressing his hand over her cryopod. The image and dedication of Wally overflowed her core with a very warm presence, like the tiny little flame of Wally's lighter was sparked inside of her. It felt comforting and safe...much like what his actions did for her.

He was right there for her all along and she never knew he wanted to show her how much he dearly loved her. Why he always tried to be with her and protect her no matter what the circumstances were and what forces tried to separate him from her, why he stowed away thousands of light-years to the _Axiom_, why he stayed by her side even when she tried to kill him herself; he truly, deeply loved her, no matter what she did to him or what the impossibilities were.

It dawned on her that she felt a similiar way as she once did back in his home and when she thank-you kissed him, how she felt a certain attracting force to him somehow ever since...perhaps that he is so amusing to her, so pure, enduring, and devoit to keep her away from harm, not even letting her feel a drop of discomfort and content for his expense; she had saw the depths of his innocence.

She not only got use to his presence, it somehow doesn't feel such the same without him; like her whole known universe came crashing down whenever she thought he was seriously hurt or dead, like in that escape pod. He was too pleasing and warm to be without him. She wanted him to be with her; no… she _needed_ him to be with her.

She doesn't know why, if it was something specific of himself that made her feel so warm and safe. Almost everything about Wally himself made her feel warm, amused, and fuzzy whenever he was in her sight or mind. Not that he was physically attractive since his humble status plus his weak and scarred physique wasn't her taste, and that he was about a decade older than she was; he was no match for the overly-handsome, strapping young, and potent athletic alpha males on this ship's crew that Eve would droll over, _and_ that he had nothing to offer her, aside from living in an abandoned truck on a desert planet.

But now she saw past everything about his place in human social standards and the marks that comprised him from the outside, into the large spheres of Wally's eyes, into his kindred soul.

He was like a cute, youthful, primal, and menial wierdo even in the most messed up or dire of situations. As humble, old, and ugly as he looked, he was still in almost everyway, youthful like a child. His oddball behavior, his pure ingenuousness, his clumsiness, his never ending strenght to keep going for the things he cares about, his curiosity, and his signature speech impeding mispronunciation of her name with his rough, high pitch, positive voice made him so lovable.

In spite of spending his whole life isolated in the post-apocalyptic world he came from, he still became the sweet, golden hearted, primal weirdo he is that always came back to her even if she hurted him; that was the miracle of him and that's what she loved about him.

At that moment, she realized that was just it. Just like sparking the little flame from a lighter. It was something she loved as much as she loved to fly, as much as she loved the flight with him in space, and how she loved seeing him alive and with the plant she ever so wanted, how she loved sharing her first kiss with him.

She loved him.

Eve starred at the paused image of Wally holding his hand up to her frozen form on the screen, seeing his innocent eyes in a whole new light that she could almost feel his hand in hers.

She looks down at the void of her own interlocked hands, aching to feel the warmth of his very presence to hold her hand.

"…Wally…"

Her voice softly murmures his name, choked with tears for the one she now cared so much for...

* * *

"…Evah…"

...His voice softly murmures her name, his tone was pleading; Wally clasped his own hands, aching to feel the warmth of her very presence fill his hand.

"…I love you."

But somehow it doesn't sound right to him, it sounded too short, and still too incorrect. Still keeping quiet in the storage compartment and to pass the time usefully, Wally's trying different pleading tones, looking for another way to tell _Eve, I love you_. Only this time, he wants to say it in the most absolutely perfect way of professing, unlike just recently.

"…EEEvah…I love you."

Nah, too uneven, and still incorrect; he is putting every effort he has of his simplistic English to rehearse those four words in perfect rhythm with his emotions, but most importantly, he must say her name correctly with his heart. It may be the most romantic way of trying to express his feelings for her by saying that magically beautiful name of hers, just as magical and beautiful as she can say it.

One last try…"Eee-Vuaahh…I love you."

Too long, too flat, too loud, and that's the 10th time he said it that way out of fifty-one tries. With a defeated sigh, his hands slump to the ground where he sat.

_How am I ever going to get this right?_

He hears footsteps approaching from outside, snapping Wally's attention. He peaks out of the manual control sliding door to see the stewards getting closer. His heart skips a beat, frozen in his spot too afraid to move and hide; but what difference would it make if he was already caught?

The guards just walk on by. More relieved than baffled on why they left, another heart stopping realization comes across him.

Now that there's no one left to see him, he can follow Eve.

But her request to stay here, no matter what happens, catches him in his tracks. But wouldn't that also include if he was in danger or not, or if the need to hide was no longer necessary? Plus, Eve hasn't returned to him yet, why was she taking so long? Could something terrible have happened to her and needs his help?

The last alarming speculation ringed in his mind; well, considering he is still worried about not wanting anything else to happen that could separate him from Eve, and here's an open chance to go to her now, and his patience wearing thin, he comes to a decision.

He dashes for the garbage chute she traveled up, unconcerned for being seen. He peeks inside the chute, calling out her name.

"Evah!"

No response, except for his echo resounding through the whole conduit; it grew loud and continued to resound for a few seconds. The shaft must go way far down and way far up, given the size of the ship and how far the line must travel. He can't hover up there like Eve, nor call out to her; and the elevator was locked down for the night. The shaft walls were wide enough for him to fit, and narrow enough for him to somehow craw up to where Eve is.

Weighing his options, he climbs into the shaft.

He presses his back against one side, his hands and feet on the other; it's narrower than he expected, enough to guarantee he wont fall, but couldn't suppress the sense of claustrophobia. To make matters worse, the close proximity of the walls coated with rotten filth overwhelmed his nostrils with a gagging stench. Though he grew up with this smell, worked with it, and lived with it all round him on Earth, the day he spent in the clean air of the sterilized _Axiom, _itwas so new and wonderful that it almost made him completely forget the smell, and now he finds it disgusting for the first time in his life.

_Ugh…well, up we go. _He slides his back, arms, and legs upwards, slowly inching his way up the 250 meter conduit full of Forthwright-knows-what.

* * *

Moe hops off the maglev monorail to the Lido Deck, having already cleaned the boot prints through the main deck and on the train itself, he had to assume that the dirty man must've left more of his marks at the only other stop. He guessed correct when he sees the faint, 10 hour old print of a boot, but…

"Huh?" No other tracks appear after it.

Did he just vanish into thin air, or were his tracks so old that they just faded way completely? Maybe some other sterilization worker did the work.

Now _that_ last thought made Moe's temper rise within him. All that cleaning and tracking down for nothing; deviating from his duty only to lose his target while he was so close…only to probably end with a court marshal. His building anger was about to be unleashed, throwing his sterilization scrubber anywhere—

"_FOERIGN CONTAMINANT"_

"What the?" His anger vanished instantly; his HUD had just highlighted more boot tracks coming from a poolside towel storage compartment.

Moe sprints over to the boot prints. Upon closer inspection, he realizes these are fresh tracks only a few minutes old. That dirty man was just here moments ago! And they were headed in the direction towards a garbage chute by the command spire.

"Aha! I Have You Now!"

More determined than ever, he scrubs his tracks, one boot print at a time, and more than one boot print closer to his target.

* * *

**Just for the heads up, i referrenced the FLEETCOM messaging text layout from the Halo novels, just so i am clear of claiming it. And as you might have guessed, or if you just don'tknow, Burtt is the last name of Ben Burtt, the sound engineer and voice of Wall-E.**

**Anyway, I really hope you've enjoyed the lovely moment, Oh, how much do i wish for a lovely woman like Eve...(long sigh)...**

**And yet! We all await what happens next! It's going to get more interesting for Wally, Eve, the Captain, Auto, the _Axiom, _and all of humanity. Tune in next time for Chapter 25!**

**Read & Review, and have a very merry Christmas everybody!**


	25. Chapter 25: Alpha One One Three

**As promised: more reading, dialogue, love, and suspense. However, be warned of Auto's...'angry outburst'. And i hope all the discusions, format, and words fit wellfor this highly anticipated part.**

**Disclaimer: is it necessary? you bet your rear end it is.**

* * *

CHAPTER 25. GENERAL ORDER ALPHA-1-1-3

"There you go little guy…" The Captain watered the plant in his private bar. According to the information he read up about how plants function and survive, he just needed to 'pour water on them'. He couldn't imagine on how in Forthwright did events play out for Eve after she was mistaken for being delusional, in order to bring this plant to be presented to him and to be cared for right now.

He pulls the plant out of the sink. "…You came a long way for a drink of water."

How a pathetic and docile life form like this could survive through things that even humans couldn't take care of was beyond him, except for tending to it at the moment.

"You just need someone to look after you, that's all—"

He caught himself starring at the reflection of himself tending to the plant, at letting his gaze lower to the discarded scale globe of planet Earth. It lay there as if it were tossed aside for granted, a waste; yet it was the very thing that drove them out here in the black void because of the acts and consequences of consumerism. They didn't leave just because it was so overpopulated or over polluted for them to die off. The planet itself was dying.

_Things that humans couldn't take care of. _The notion struck an awakening in him. His expression serious for the first time he could remember.

He taps the intercom button on his hoverchair's armrest, the captain's whistle resounding over the link to the Bridge.

"Auto, this is the Captain. I need you down here, ASAP."

"Aye, aye, Sir." The Commander responded faster than the Captain could wait.

As he let off the com, McCrea sat up straight readying himself for what he as about to do with this epiphany.

"We have to go back." He said quietly to himself.

* * *

Eve was touched beyond reality as she replays the security footage of her guardian angel/garbage man taking care of her. Further lost in the heart melting moments of him trying to protect her, feed her, revive her, please her, taking out on their 'date', and their 10 day journey to the _Axiom_ watching the starlight. Her eyes were moist, she coos his name as if it were the most beautiful sound of the universe itself.

"…Wally…"

She wonders how the individual he is could ever love someone like herself. Or even if anyone, let alone Wally could deserve someone like her after what she did to him, and she had no idea if true love was possible, if not improbable or undefinable. But she knew how uncertain she was of herself ever_ loving _or being _loved_ by someone.

She was often looked up to when she was in her younger years in child-care; in her late-adolescent E.V.R.E training, close friends in need and fellow cadets all said that they 'loved' her for being a helpful guide, a successful leader, and being the closest thing to a sibling along with her sisters and parents. Although she never considered of actually being in a intimate relationship, having never meet someone who actually cared about her wholly except the fact that she is very beautiful, or as most men called her: 'attractive' or 'hot' or any other perverse name they could think of. So much so, that she has been the lust-inducing crush of many lovelorn, womanizing crewmembers; almost by every male who knew everything other than being a lover that laid eyes on her saw her as a prom queen, which she didn't give any thought to whatever perverted things men thought of her. For almost no one, not even the most outgoing or self-absorbingly eager boyfriend-wannabe could stand her tough no-nonsense personality. Some men wisely kept distances from her short temper whenever someone idiotically dared enough to attempt to court her like a damsel or diva, take advantage of her, or challenge her for a casual fling; and they ended up either humiliated by her intelligence and/or beaten to a pulp with her augmented abilities. However, she did feel alone after a time, realizing she could never find the attentive things in any man's heart that she desired for a significant other.

They never understood as well as herself about what it meant to be loved other than regarding external exquisiteness; it meant that someone can see into her, beyond her personality to see the exsistance of true beauty. That in which could drive that someone with such nobility and kindness to care so much for herself's sake and well-being, and that someone would do anything for her needs or wants over their own, no matter the differences, obstacles, or cost. Someone that would solely be hers to claim with more sentimental value than any materialistic fortune could ever concieve.

And feral raised, poor garbage collecting Wally, the least expectant of all possibilities, was that attentive and noble man who saw the beauty within Eve; he was the one who made her feel so special rather than a prize. He was _her_ someone.

The Wally in the screen playing pong with her sighed in defeat as he realizes that Eve cannot awake, bringing out a saddened expression on his face.

Eve too, felt horribly terrible for shutting him off so suddenly like that, feeling a little anger for the reconnissance program to probe her mind with that unspeakable neural implant that deprived her from being with him during those 11 days.

Then as she paused the image of Wally, who was about to cry after giving up all hope of never awakening Eve. The sadness present in Wally's eyes made her feel something die inside of her, like seeing the warm face she knew into dread and hopelessness, a sight so foreign of a pure innocent soul.

She thought back to the file she read about him, of how his life had been speculated on Earth in cold vocabulary; but a look into Wally's soul through his stormy sad eyes said much, much more dreadful things about how he felt when it came to sadness.

It was an emotion he knew all too well, the absence of anything but happy in the depths of his eyes said everything about what he had always felt before he knew her. In his eyes he felt the same sadness of having to witness all the people he knew die right in front of him, then forced to grow up with no family at all, no one to look up to, no one to be cared for, nor to be loved by, instead to be treated as a slave, hunted for food, and having to live in constant pain (physical and emotional), all alone until the day he dies...Eve had no single word for how to describe Wally's life, but it was an injustice of Fate. If anything there could be done to atone for the suffering he lived, Wally at the very least, _deserved_ happiness.

The saddened image of Wally made Eve want to almost reach out and hold him, to tell him everything, that she loves him with all her heart, and will always be by his side; as if he were just there.

_If he were just here…_

Her eyes shot open upon a realization, as if she were struck by a bolt of lightning.

"Wally!" _Oh god, I just left him alone in the storage room! _She can reach out to hold him, to give him the happiness he never had, to love him! She must go to him.

She turns to the elevator to leave, without bothering to salute the Captain.

"OH!"

Commander Auto however, appears from the elevator with his pace cane in hand as always, forcing Eve to stop in her tracks and salute this time in the face of the uptight officer.

"Uh, Commander Auto, Sir!"

Auto's puzzled by the lieutenant's appearance after being sent to the ward, but his attention was drawn to the Captain, seeing what he was holding up in his hand.

"Ah, Auto, Lieutenant Eve found the plant! She was telling the truth, and that means we need to initiate the Recolonization protocols. I need you to fire up the Holo-detector."

Auto walks over to him. "Not necessary Captain, you can just give the plant to me."

"You know what?..." Holding up a finger, still elsewhere in thought. "…I'll just do it myself." He heads for the elevator, "But, Captain…" the commander's stone cold eyes hinted alarm. He walks in front of McCrea at such speed even for a still wholly professional stance. "…sir, I _insist_ you give me the plant." He blocks the Captain's path; McCrea's taken aback by his sudden move, however he just brushes off the out-the-ordinary behavior. "Auto, get out of my way."

"We cannot go back to Earth, Sir." The calmness of his voice spoke all the finality of what he just said to get McCrea's complete, sober attention.

"What?" This was beyond out-of-ordinary even for today; the ever duty-minded Auto was resisting his wishes. "What are you talking about? Why the hell not?"

Auto steps closer. "I'm afraid that information is classified, even for you, Captain. So you'll be so kind and please gi—" He was about to reach for the plant with a hand, but McCrea drew back from him.

"What you mean 'classified'? You don't keep a secret from the ship's captain!"

"Please, just give me the plant, sir." Auto calmly reached out again, as well as the Captain hastily keeping the boot out of his reach. "Not until you tell me what's classified." "The plant, sir." As Auto reaches for it again, McCrea presses a hand up to him, forcing him to stop. He speaks up to his first officer for the first time.

"Tell Me What In Forthwright's Name Is So Secret! That's An Order, Commander!"

Auto and McCrea stood frozen in place during the intense stare down. A few seconds pass as Auto calculated the circumstances of the situation. He keeps his face as emotionless as he always does, without any sign of expressing defeat within his eyes…

"As you wish, sir."

The first officer marches over to the holographic console, with the Captain and Eve watching intently. Auto accesses the _Axiom's_ rarely used long-range communications log, which only displayed annual updates from Earth and other _BnL_ starliners dating as far back when the ship first launched, back when Operation: Cleanup was in effect.

Auto types an unknown command, causing the computer to open security measures. He types in a password *****. "_VOCAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED." _The computer asked.

"Auto, Macintalk A. Commander, BnLS _Axiom._" His monotone name resounds as the computer processed his clearance. _"AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED." _

Just then, a hidden message file that was never seen in the ship log's history appeared after the last known message received from Earth; one that has been opened before.

**_X - BnLS FLEETCOM CCA-CiC. IE: A113_**

_**BnL CORPORATE COMMAND AUTHORITY ORDER 09999-1A**_

_**Priority code: Black**_

_**From: Shelby Forthwright, BnL CEO, Sector NA-002, Earth**_

**_To: ALL BnL Starliners,_ _NOTE - F__irst Officer Eyes Only_**

_**Subject: General Order A113**_

_**Classification**_**: **_**Top Secret**_

_**Vid:file.A13**_

Auto paused, hesitating about what he was about to present to the Captain; he was his commanding officer, however he was still a unauthorized person to see a message only for Second-in-commands, especially of this security clearance level. An intolerable security violation that's considered sedition, but, considering the situation, of all the captains of the _Axiom's_ history, he was warned by his preceded first officer that one of them would've eventually found out of this.

With no choice, he presses the play button.

_- COMMENCING TRANSMISSION – 2110:06:27:16:26:17-_

The _Buy N' Large_ logo and jingle play on the screen, though he was worried in his mind, Auto kept an unreadable face as he stood straight at attention with hands behind his back as the Captain and Eve lean in for what their about to see.

"_Just Cut It Off, Will Ya?" _A muffled, angry voice yelled out to abruptly stop the annoying BnL jingle. But the most worrying part was the owner of that angry voice was known by anyone, but, never sounded angry to any ear who knew that man's voice.

As the recorded video begins, McCrea and Eve were shocked to see an impossible image.

Standing at a worn-down presidential podium, _the_ Shelby Forthwright, CEO of the Buy N' Large mega corporation, the most optimistic face-meant-to-smile leader in human history looked beyond despaired and hopeless for the first time in his life. His face wrinkled with exhaustion, dark circles of sleep deprivation beneath his eyes, his appearance dirty from sandstorms, and his frame rail thin from hard labor, disease, and starvation. He wore a gasmask and hazmat survival suit instead of his presidential uniform; and was broadcasting from what remains of the Buy N' Large World Headquarters (formerly the US Capitol building of Washington D.C.)_, _admist an incoming sandstorm. In the background, a heavily guarded private spacecraft with a small army of soldiers and what was left of the corporate government were urgently awaiting their CEO to finish the message in order to escape Earth. But what they were urgently awaiting to escape among from the incoming storm of sand and pollution was the penal colony of furious cleanup workers about to bear down on the capitol, upon seeing their CEO abandon them for dead.

The BnL CEO forces a chuckle, but the Captain already senses the dread of this broadcast. The message is plagued with static using failing equipment at the time and location.

"_Uhh, hey there, first officers. Got some bad news…" _Forthwright paused to choose his words, his voice is harsh from breathing five years worth of carcinigin plagued air.

"..._Operation: Cleanup has…well, uh...failed." _No matter how hard Forthwright tried to keep a smile, he knew it was futile for the information he had to give.

_"W-Wouldn't you know, 200 million workers AND five years weren't able to reverse the rising toxicity levels, not even close...T-There's simply too much trash to possibly remove, and thus the work depleted our operation reserves to survive and carry out the task. But it seems there's nothing left we can do. The toxicity levels have rendered the entire planet unable to sustain human life."_

"Huh? Unsustainable?" The Captain looks at the living plant in his hand, and back to the screen.

"…_Oh, darn it all we're going to have to…cancel Operation: Recolonize. So, uh…I herby order all vessels to just stay your present course, ummm…rather than try and fix this problem, it'll just be easier for everyone to remain in space. It's our only safe solution until we can find a new home world, if any."_

"Easier?" The Captain became further offended upon hearing the words of his CEO, seeing him dump his responsibilities as the source of the problem.

"_Mr. President!" _An alarmed voice from his advisory staff drew Forthwright's attention from the broadcast to the surrounding area of the guarded capital. A thunderous tremble was growing louder as thousands and thousands of savage, starving cleanup workers desperately fleeing the approaching sandstorm in the distance, and coming after their cowering leader. The small force of armed guards with riot control gear rushed to stop them, the remaining staff and corporate officials prepared to run for the ship.

"_Sir! We need to go, Now! _In the background, the workers and the guard force clashed. Forthwright gets back to finishing the message, half-panicking. "_Um, uh… o-Ok, I am herby issuing General Order Alpha One, One, Three. Ordering all second-in-command officers and their SiC successors of every BnL starship must secretly alter all Earth-return protocols, purge any and all information of this operation's failure by any means necessary to safeguard the civil status quo aboard every starliner."_

In the background, hundreds of fighting BnL workers, who wore the exact same jumpsuits as Wally, stormed the capitol. The guards turned to leathal force and opened up on them; many of the workers dropped dead from machine gun fire. But the murderous survival instincts of the numerically superior workers slowly overran the guards with shovels pummeling the guards into bloody pulps, killing everyone in their path towards the CEO.

"_Sir, Let's Get Outta Here! NOW!" _The officials and guards retreat to the ship as fast as they could. Forthwright prepared to run; the workers were after him and are getting closer. "_Go to full automation and stasis of operating; keep all personnel and population in control and comfort, I don't care as long as it ensures the continuation of the human race, and do not under ANY circumstances—"_

"_THERE HE IS! KILL HIM!"_ The bloodthirsty voices of over a thousand workers came after Forthwright. He and the camera crew ran for their lives to the ship, as fast as they can, but he still has to finish the message.

Forthwright manages to keep the camera trained on him as they sprinted in total fear. "—_And Do Not Return To Earth! REPEAT! DO NOT RETURN TO EARTH! AAAAAAHHH!"_

The workers grab him just when he was within reach of the ship, having been overrun and disabled; the workers storm the surviving governing personel and guards. The camera falls to ground when the camera crew gets brutally beaten to death, and the rest of the human tidal wave swarm Forthwright, his dying screams fade in the gurgling sounds of the mob tearing his body to bloody pieces.

The sounds of machine gun fire, sickening crunches of bodies falling, horrifying screams, and howling wind incoherently fills the holoscreen as the arriving sandstorm engulfs everyone in view; everyone being either blown away or buried alive, along with the camera. The screen fades to static...

_TRANSMISSION TERMINATED - 2110:06:27:16:31:46 – _

The Captain and Eve stare slack-jawed, at a loss for words.

They have never seen so much anarchy and barbarianism in their own kind, it gave only a glimpse to how Wally's life was so akin to his ancestors. They were shocked. Not just of the naturally desperate workers fighting one another to survive, but having been shaken to see their most beloved leader to be revealed a coward and a fraud; the true source of Earth'sand Wally's ancestors' demise, and the shrugging off of human civilization as if it were a last minute afterthought to solve a nuisent problem. It left the Captain in complete disgust.

"So," Auto began, turning off the message. "You've heard my orders. Captain, the plant, please." The Captain considered Auto's request, but…

"No, wait a minute." McCrea opens the communications log again; it was nothing compared to what he saw of the desolate, benign, and unpopulated Earth in Eve's recon; and even all the evidence for a safe return trip is in his hand. "Computer, when was that message sent out to the _Axiom_?"

The screen scrolls all the way back to vid:fileA13, _"BnL CORPORATE COMMAND AUTHORITY ORDER 09999-1A WAS RECEIVED AT 2233:04 HOURS, JUNE 27__TH__, 2110."_

"That's uh— that's 695 years ago!" The logic made too much sense to even address. "Auto, things have changed! We _have_ to go back!"

"But, sir, you heard what the CEO ordered: 'Do not return to Earth under _any_ circumstances.'"

"But do you even know _why_ we're not supposed to return to Earth? That was nearly seven whole centuries ago!" The Captain held up the plant to prove his point. "Life _is_ sustainable now! Look at this plant: Green and growing! It's living proof he was wrong by now!"

Auto rebuffs. "Pardon me, sir, if I could speak freely; but you know the regulations, we must follow all orders of the highest command, hense the CEO, without doubt or question."

McCrea never understood regulations even as a shipmaster, but he knew the chain of succession. "The CEO is dead, and so is the rest of _Buy N' Large_. that makes his commands invalid and if anything, appoints me, the captain of a free starship, to determine if we should go anywhere or not! And did I not just tell you: This plant means we can recolonize the Earth! Sure the CEO said we can't, but he was the root of it all, but it's still in a poor condition and we need to solve the problem ourselves."

"Whether or not his orders are proven incorrect is irrelevant, Captain." Auto said with his controlled manner. McCrea was becoming more and more irritated with his first officer's lack of common sense of the situation.

"What? It's completely relevant!" He points out of his viewport to the distant stars of the galaxy, one of them was Earth. "Out there is our home! Home, Auto! And it's in trouble! I can't just sit here and…and…do nothing! That's all I've ever done! That's anyone on this blasted hulk of a ship has ever done! NOTHING!

"On the _Axiom_, we will survive." Auto's reasoning only confused himself when the Captain responded with contradictory words.

"I DON'T WANT TO SURVIVE! I WANT TO LIVE!"

Auto tried to remain cool through the Captain's growing anger; though his superior officer intended to do more with life and for everyone aboard. But it is for the good of those of the ship.

"Then I must follow my orders to ensure the human race survives." Auto's voice rose.

"Daaagh!" McCrea hovers away from his nonnegotiable first officer in insurmountable frustration and defeat. _Duty, duty, duty; nothing but following command for this guy. _He thought with a headache. Plus, no one could outmatch his discipline or logic, even if one had to force it.

McCrea finds himself starring at the holographic portraits of each captain of the _Axiom, _as if asking them for the answer. They seemed to be asking for answers themselves. Each generation born, grew, and died on this ship; enclosed in a never ending life of consumption barrage that lead them to the ship in the first place, mindlessly pleasing themselves to death on a ship heading to nowhere. Even the name of the ship itself, _Axiom_, means to take for granted. It is a testament to humanity's ultimate brilliance, and ultimate laziness; a paradox for man being the architect of his own undoing.

McCrea also notices the first officers behind each and every captain. They were all overly obedient, physically fit, and edging closer and closer to each new, less responsible captain; he also notices his overall image compared with the rest of how humanity ended up. McCrea looks over his shoulder to see Auto standing right behind him, It hit him that they all too, were secretly following A113. The surviving roots of BnL's governing system slowly and surely grasping control over the human population; 700 years of being blinded by a the hidden prison they built around themsleves, 700 years worth of generations born and died here, having lived meaningless, vain exsistances. Worst of all, they never knew or ever will know they were imprisoned.

_BnL doesn't exist anymore._ He repeats to himself, a determined resolution brewing; no more control now, no more staying in limbo, no more _BnL,_ no more of...this.

The Captain rights his peaked cap, and sitting up straight in his chair as he turns to Auto. This is the first and by far the most authoritative command he is about to give in his career. For the good of the people on this ship. For Humanity.

"I'm the Captain of the _Axiom_. As of today, we are going home!"

Auto was silent for a few seconds before clearing his throat for what he has to say; this is going to be the biggest decision of his life and the lives of those onboard.

"Commander, I order you to activate the holo-detector, we are going to jump back to Ear—"

Auto moved so fast, like lightning, he instantly stood in front of the Captain, making him and Eve (who stayed completely silent) flinch.

"No, Captain, I'm afraid I cannot allow that to happen." McCrea is shocked to see Auto openly disobey against him. Though he at least firmly tried to turn his following of orders on him, he might as well remove him. He taps a command on his COM piece, sounding a security alert; Auto doesn't seem the least bit fazed by the Captain's means of attempting to punish his action.

The elevator opens as Chief Gofer emerges. "Chief! Relieve the Commander of his duty!" But strangely to the Captain, Gofer's already aware of what's transpiring, ignoring the Captain's orders and stands by Auto's side.

Eve immediately pointed an accusing finger. "YOU! Captain, It was him! The Chief stole the plant from me!"

"What?"

Gofer stated everything as if it were planned out. "Yes, sir, even though I had to dispose of the plant due to the A113 protocol, we had to inform you upon its discovery, and we thought the Lieutenant here would take the blame for a falsified find."

"We? You and Auto conspired this?" McCrea is even further confused and enraged with this treachery; security was involved too.

"Yes, sir, and seeing the plant here now is beyond me, but regardless, if you don't mind…" He snatches the plant from the Captain's hands. "…I'll get rid of this."

"Hey! That's my p—" Gofer suddenly spins around with a stun gun pointed straight at Eve and the Captain, gasping in fear, then yelling in anger.

"THIS IS MUTINY!" With confidence, still enraged, he turns to Eve. "EVE, ARREST THEM!"

Without hesitation, Eve's defensive combat training took over as she kicked the stun gun out Gofer's hand in a white blur. She catches it in midair, drawing out her plasma rifle, and lands with both guns pointed at the mutineers.

"No! Don't shoot." Gofer holds his hands out in surrender, Auto tenses, but doesn't show any fear nor does he move.

"Give me the plant, right now!" Eve demands. "And slowly."

Gofer complies, slowly walking over to Eve with the plant in hand.

"Eve, you're to put this plant straight in the holo-detector." McCrea spoke up.

"Understood, sir!"

Gofer extends his hand with the plant. "You sure you want the plant, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, give it, now!" Eve hostlers the stun gun, keeping the plasma rifle trained on Gofer and extending an arm for the plant. "Very well then…HERE!" He tosses the plant to the garbage chute, it makes it in.

"NO!" McCrea and Eve reached out for it. But now lost and never able to be recovered again, it's gone…

* * *

…until it reappears over the rim of the trash conduit, slowly rising like it was floating on something.

Everyone in the room is dumbfounded, including Auto. _What in Forthwright's name?_

A filthy figure peaked his head out of the garbage conduit, latching onto the rim relieved of any more climbing or resisting the terrible stench of the filth, with the plant in one prosthetic hand.

"Evah?" That calling for her name was all it took for everyone to jump at who he was.

"Wally!"

"Evah!" He's so relieved to not see Eve in any present danger; he was worried sick the whole way up when he heard loud voices from the top of the shaft. "I have the plant, what's going o—"

"WALLY! THE PLANT, QUICK!" McCrea and Eve call out to him frantically, but Gofer and Auto move faster, anticipating him to help. It all happens too fast for Wally to comprehend.

Auto deactivates the Captain's chair while Gofer grabs Eve when she heads over to the confused Wally, cuffing her hands with suspension binders. "LET GO OF ME!"

"EVAH!" Wally finally understands Eve _is_ in present danger; he tries to rush over to help her. But Auto rushes over to Wally. "You! Give me the plant!"

"Aaah!" terrified by the tall man's menacing stature, Wally dashes out of Auto's reach keeping the plant between his arms; but Auto grabs Wally by the collar of his coveralls before he could leap away further.

"I Said: Give me the plant!" His steely voice was far more menacing than anyone has ever heard from him, freezing Wally's squirming and locking him in terror. Wally considers complying to his demands as long he can help out Eve from this surprising danger.

"WALLY! DON'T GIVE IT TO HIM! NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES!" Eve pleads to him, Gofer trying to silence her by holding her mouth shut with his hands. Wally looks between Eve and Auto, his panic mixed with confusion; unable to give him what he wants upon Eve's command but she will remain in danger.

"Do _not_ make me repeat myself!" Auto pulls Wally's thin frame off his feet and up to him, glaring and howling into Wally's face with deathly seriousness. "Or I will force you to give it to me!"

Wally shook in total fear with the plant clung to his heart with both arms, he wanted to just run away with Eve and not face this terror. But he can't, nor did he want to run if he could; he was at least not in total fear to loose coherent thought, he did not want to feel like a coward. Eve's needs outweighed Auto's threats.

"Umm…uhuhuhuh..No!—" Out of the blue, Auto brings his fist down on Wally's face, shattering his glasses into shards, breaking his nose and cheek.

"Ooow!" Wally shouted in pain, unable to clasp his face burning from the blow of Auto's punch.

"Give me the plant now, for I am authorized at this point to use whatever methods I deem necessary if you don't!" His controlled voice hid the boiling anger inside of Auto.

"N-nnn-no, I won't!" Wally's timid defiance is met with another powerful blow to his face, he almost felt like his head was going to fly of his shoulders; instead he flew across the room.

Eve and McCrea felt so helpless to see Wally defenselessly get strung up by his messy hair as Auto interrogates him.

"NO! DON'T HURT HIM!"

She begs Auto to stop, but he gives Wally another blow, shouting in pain as Auto breaks his jaw; along with another punch to his stomach, causing Wally to spit out blood and a tooth. But he still held onto the plant for dear life, he did what he did best, he endured.

Auto loosen's his tie, a very terrifying hint of frustration growing within him against Wally's uncooperative resistance.

"Very well then, _don't_ give me the plant."

That uncharacteristic statement sent a chill down everyone's spine.

He draws out his meter-long pace cane; activating a hidden button at the grip, suddenly causing the cane to light up, sparking and crackling with electricity.

Auto strikes Wally with it; the moment it touches Wally's skin he spasms and shrieks uncontrollably.

It's the most painful thing he has ever felt, the sensory overload of being hit by a steel wall and the sensation of his insides on fire made his harsh life on Earth seem bliss. The blunt carbon fiber cane contused flesh and fractured bones wherever it struck Wally, as well as shocking where it struck with over 10,000 volts; causing his pacemaker to fluctuate, making a stabbing pain in his heart. The pain was followed by another torturous strike with more force than the last, and then another, and another…

"AAAAGH! STOP-AAAGH! MERCY! A-STOOO-Aaaaaa!"

Wally's desperate cries for Auto to stop fall upon deaf ears as he continues to brutally torture him right in front of Eve, who has broken down in tears.

After a minute of gruesome beating which felt like an eternity, Auto stops. He didn't break a sweat but the frustation was immenent in his interrigation, not bothering to stop in between strikes with his prod. He brushes back a few loose strains of his black hair and grabs Wally by his skinny neck, lifting him 2 feet off the ground so they are face to face. Wally could barely breathe already from the unbearable pain of broken bones, bruises, and cuts all over him; Auto's grip on his throat felt stronger than carbon steel. But at least he never let go of the plant, and his pacemaker was left intact and functional.

Clearing his throat, Auto asks. "So, 'Wally'…will you give me the plant, please?" He said to him casually as if nothing happened, but his usually unreadable face still witheld the cruel persona.

Wally just stared Auto in the eyes with his black and blue bruised ones. From Auto's prosthetic right eye to his organic left eye, and then over to Eve, her eyes stung red, crying. It hurt Wally to see her the way she is now over the pain of his beaten body, she doesn't want Auto to ever lay a hand on the plant, or him, but, there could be only one thing or the other to choose from. Wally could see in Eve's eyes that she silently begged him to just give in and stop Auto's onslaught. Wally continued to stare into the now strangely but loving eyes of his beloved white haired beauty, remembering how much he loves her; how much she is important to him, and how much her needs come before his own, even before his life…

"I'll take your silence as a yes." Auto declares. Wally gathers up what little courage and moving strenght he has left in him when Auto reaches for the plant clutched in Wally's prosthetic hand. And shouts all the air he can through his clutched throat.

"Never!"

His arm compartment opens up his cutting laser, and fires a short burst. Directly into Auto's left organic eye.

"Aaaahhhh!"Auto yelled in pain as he presses his hands to his cauterized organ, dropping Wally to the deck. Though unbelievably surprised by his bold act, Eve struggled to break free from Gofer at this turn of events, but Gofer has the advantage of her bonded. Slowly standing up, Wally places the plant in his utility bag, addressing Gofer with all the will and courage he can summon, turning the demanding tables against the mutineers.

"Let Go Of Eve! Now!"

Auto however, turns to Wally. He kept one hand pressing up against the smoking remains of his eye, blood trickled down his face; his breaths become contorted and he trembled uncontrollably.

His other eye…though prosthetic and robotically cycloptic which now fit him perfect; it was fully dilated, the large red glow expressing the white hot emotion no one has ever lived to see on the face of Commander Auto. It was a face so terrifying that it could have frozen all of the Four Horseman of the Apocolypse in their tracks.

His eye showed hate, the boiling rage inside him exploded out of him like a supernova.

"YOU INSULANCE!"

All pointed at one, defenseless garbage man about to be destroyed.

"AAAAAAAHHH!"

He charges Wally with all the rage and hate in his body, along with all his superhuman strength as he brings up his electroshock cane, the end forming a razor sharp stake like a spear, all locked on and about to bear down on Wally's chest. He falls over as he tries to back away…

… the electroshock stake meets Wally's pacemaker, penetrating through its delicate electronic blood pump, stabbing right through his crestbone, impaling muscle tissue, blood vessels, organs, and tearing out the back of his torso and thrusting into the titanium deck floor with body breaking force.

**"NOOOOOOOO!"**

Eve screams, Wally couldn't hear her; he is in excrutiating pain, so much fiery pain it rang through him. His head, his heart, his skin, and insides felt like they were ablaze, melting, and exploding all at the same time. The violent involuntary convulsions threatened to tear him up, limb from limb. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and bleed from his eye sockets, nose, mouth, and ears. The electrocution sent all the 10,000 volts throughout his veins, Wally's pacemaker literally blows up in his chest, bursting into sparks of incinerated circuitry, searing surrounding flesh along with the glowing plasma arc cane.

Auto thrusted it further inside him with his super strength, crushing the grip of the cane. He gritted his teeth harder like they're going to shatter into a powder; the burning fire of Wally's suffering fueled Auto's hate, giving his prosthetic eye a white hot glow.

The cane runs out of power after around 10 seconds, but through the pain, Wally felt like he had touched the edge of Hell.

Auto furiously pulls the cane out of Wally, and out of the deck. Wally remained on the floor and unable to barely breathe. His blackened chest smoked and sizzled from the fried pacemaker on the inside, dark red blood poured out of the scourhed open wound, making a sickening sizzle of the blown pacemaker.

"WAALLLYYYY!NOO!NOOO-ooooooh!"Eve violently struggles against Gofer, against fiery sadness and anger to attack the monster that aparently slaughtered the man she loves.

Auto drags the unmoving Wally to the disposal conduit, leaving a small trail of blood as he roughly kicking his body down the shaft face first, disappearing into the garbage airlock below, soon to thrown out into space and never seen again. _Throwing out the garbage. _He thought.

Breathing heavily, Auto regains what's left of his professional composure and calmly turns around to see a terrified McCrea and a distraught Eve. "Bring her here."

Gofer tries to maintain Eve as she screams her head off at Auto.

"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU MONSTER!YOU—"

"Then maybe you could join him!" Reclaiming the stun gun from her, Auto fired an electroshock point blank at Eve, rendering her limp and unconscious; and tossed down the shaft by both men.

Auto turns to McCrea, who is too shocked at what just happened. But, as if nothing ever did happened, Auto simply straightens his tie and wipes Wally's blood off his cane and hands while Gofer hands Auto a biopad, placing it over his burnt eye as he finishes his prior statement to the Captain.

"I cannot allow you to return this ship to Earth, sir. Security Chief Gofer and I must do all means necessary to ensure that order is followed, to preserve the survival of humanity, So, as of this moment forward…"

Auto snatches the Captain's cap off McCrea's head and places it on himself. "…I herby relieve _you_ of your command. I shall resume the position and responsibilities over this vessel as Captain." He leans in closer. "As I and my predecesors always should have."

"NO! THIS IS MUTINY!" McCrea's shock turns to fury. McCrea attempts to regain his hat, but Auto slaps him aside as if he were weightless.

Chief Gofer and newly the self-appointed Captain Auto strode for the elevator. "Be sure to severe all means of communication to this estate, Chief, we don't want him to stir up a panic amongst our passengers."

"Aye, aye,…Captain." Gofer salutes Captain Auto, killing the lights and computer to the former Captain's room.

Captain Auto faces the struggling McCrea trying to get back up, shouting 'Mutiny' at his traitorous officers.

"You are confined to quarters until further notice, Mr. McCrea, don't try anything foolish."

"NO! MUTINY! MUTINYYYY!"

The elevator door closes on a resisting McCrea.

"**MUTINYYYYYYYY!"**

* * *

**And so the climatic shift in the story is set in motion, and so is Wally and Eve's love. If Wally is still alive of course, Is he? Find out soon on Chapter 26!**

**Read & Review & Happy New Year!**


	26. Chapter 26: Garbage Airlock

**School starts up again today, for all of us I'm sure. So updates won't be as constant but i _will_ get post them for you all.**

**This chapter took me awhile to find the right words for the growing bond between Wally and Eve, its a chapter so significant to Wally and Eve's relationship that its hard to articulate it in detail. So if something doesn't make sense, please let me know so i can edit it for ya.**

**Disclaimer (noun): 1. to denounce the copyright ownership of a film, book, act, etc. 2. Whodarep08's denounced ownership of pixar's _Wall-E_**

* * *

CHAPTER 26. GARBAGE AIRLOCK

Blackness and Pain. Eve felt it all over her, throbbing and stinging disorientation overwhelmed her senses in the dark. The blackness slowly parted to a blur of faint colors flooding in and out of her mind as she drifted in and out of consciousness, so much so that as if her body and mind felt separated. Groaning, she slowly opens her eyes, only to have them shut tightly again as the pain inside her forehead intensified.

"_Pain is a good thing." _Her instincts told her, the words imprinted into her head by her merciless E.V.R.E. instructors from combat training. "_It means you're still alive." _She lets that thought run through her, forcing herself to open her eyes, she harrowingly welcomes the head splitting ache using it to recompose herself and wake up.

Eve's vision clears as she takes in her immediate surroundings, there's still darkness around her. She can't move, the pain from inside her head combined with some physical objects prevented her from moving to a degree. Whatever it is that held her in place, it smelled most foul.

The stink is all around her, everywhere. As she moves her eyes and head around as much as she can she sees silhouettes of mountainous piles in all directions; a dark, ugly, deep mess inside a vast metallic chasm with holes looming above them. The lit holes kept opening and closing, depositing clutter to these enormous cliffs of junk. She's slowly recognizes that she is in the _Axiom_'s garbage airlock. She must've fell from one of the massive chutes above her, sliding down the trash hill until she was pinned down. Her nanosuit is covered with dirt and grime; she was uninjured with the exception of a few minor cuts and grazes, and the ache of what felt like she was electroshocked.

Her mind clearing, she begins to remember images of what happened right before she ended up here. About how she was brought to a garbage chute by Gofer, stunned point blank by Auto, explaining the stinging pains, whilst screaming at him for—

She turns stricken.

"WALLY?!"

She calls out to him, everything returns to her, she saw him get dumped down here by that soulless First Officer, after what he did to him. Eve calls out to him again, Wally must've landed around here somewhere.

"WALLY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!!"

Her voice echoes through the enormous depot, but his voice does not echo back to her, no 'evah!' to fill her ears. She feared the worst after what she saw back up there.

What if he's dead?…

The dead calm is shattered by the junkyard's klaxon, startling Eve. "_CAUTION: ACTIVATING AIRLOCK DISPOSAL…ACTIVATING AIRLOCK DISPOSAL…"_

A platform near where Eve landed springs to life, stacked with enormous cubes the size of houses made entirely of compacted garbage. The platform slides into another cavernous chamber where it sealed off by a transparent blast door. The moment it seals…'Whoosh!' Eve's adrenaline spikes, watching the cubes of space junk get sucked out of the chamber as the exterior blast doors open, jettisoning the cubes into the vacuum. That'll be her if she doesn't find a way out and doesn't find Wally.

"WALLY?! WALLY?!?!"

Lights shine all around her, as well as the deck rumbling. She turns her head, hoping she had been found and might find a way out. But she is greeted with wall-sized, metallic claws shovel her into a maw; her expression goes fear-ridden as it was a moment ago.

Two, gigantic machines with floodlights begin racking several metric tons of garbage within their hydraulic compacting chambers. They're box shaped, automated supercompactor units that work the depot; compressing and ejecting trash to be jettisoned.

It's a close call for her not to be squashed to death when the cube is spat out of the mammoth garbage compacting robot. But she is still in a whirlwind of panic; she's held in place by several tons of trash and her cube is being placed on an already completed platform full of compressed garbage. She's already a goner.

As she dreads over what few seconds she has left, a worn, twitching prosthetic arm and messy haired head sticks out of the cube in the corner of her eye.

"…eeeeeev….." Wally's weakened voice made Eve almost jump out of the cube. "WALLY!!"

She found him, and he's still alive.

"_CAUTION: ACTIVATING AIRLOCK DISPOSAL…ACTIVATING AIRLOCK DISPOSAL…"_

The platform begins to slide into the chamber, by estimates, they have 20 to 25 seconds before they are sealed off and thrown into space; they won't survive for a single moment since they don't have their Flickinger fields. Her mind races into action, no time to think over what they don't have or can't do. She can't use her plasma rifle, let alone move, but— _antigrav!_

Her boots activate upon neural command, the antigravitational field releases the compressed mass holding her in place, bursting free. She turns over to Wally.

"WALLY! I'M GETTING YOU OUT OF HERE!!"

He can only groan in response, he was alive, yes, but to what extent she does not know and she doesn't have time to hesitate or look him over.

18 seconds left. She digs around him to get him out, but he's buried deep in the cube.

16 seconds left, she digs faster…

...

A screaming voice echoes through one of the garbage chutes in the depot. Moe drops down from the openings landing safely on the garbage piles, only to scream louder from the surrounding mountains of filth. His fear for germs overwhelmed him to the point it doesn't matter. And it doesn't by the way, for he regretfully had to ignore his fear in order to jump down here and find that man who put him through this ordeal.

He looks around frantically out of the fear and fury. His HUD flashed _'FOREIGN CONTAMINATION'_ everywhere he looked, and so much so that one spot looked like the germs was moving, it gave him the chills.

Hang on a second, his HUD zooms in on the rather large moving contaminant inside a closing chamber. He immediately recognizes the E.V.R.E. scout, trying to pull out…him!!

"AHA!" He charges out of the depot, scrubber in hand. His short legs propelling him at the impossible speed of his determination to fulfill his cleaning once and for all!

"YOU'RE MINE NOW!!"

...

13 seconds left. Eve is clawing through as much garbage as she can with her superstrenght, but time's running out. Deep enough to grab Wally she yanks on his limp body to free him but he barely budges, despite his skinny frame he's compressed in there really tight.

10 seconds left, she dares look behind her to see the gap of the airlock doors narrowing. Her mind races at light speed, unable to make it in time if she even gives any further coherent thought. She tugs on Wally with all her might, straining him as he is slowly pulled out of the cube.

7 seconds left, she doesn't have enough time left…

...

Moe rounds a corner and leaps over the platform rail tracks. He races against the closing doors of the chamber, as fast as his short legs can run. His sterilizing fluid container is being a hindrance to carry but he's almost there!

...

5 seconds left, Eve uses her antigrav boots, grunting as she tugs Wally with all her strength.

3 seconds, only his legs are still left to be unstuck! Almost there!

1 second, no time left!!

...

_ALMOST THERE! _Moe could already feel his goal being cleaned away. Until, while ignoring his surroundings, his fluid container jams in the closing doors.

"What the—"

...

0 seconds.

All happening simultaneously, Eve pries Wally free from the cube as the outer doors fly open, the cubes instantly catapult out of the airlock and replaced with the deafening roar of oxygen being sucked out into the vacuum of space. Eve kicks her antigrav boots into full power, fighting the blast of escaping atmosphere while carrying Wally in one arm wrapped around him and the other slowly trying to reach out to the unknown crewmember stuck in the inner doors.

Moe's heart almost stops, all of his thoughts and feelings are flooded with fear and confusion; being stuck in the door, pressurized air is escaping the gap he created in the sealed doors. The rush of oxygen and debris past his body threatens to loosen him to his doom; his ears almost bleed from the deafening roar and decompression. Slowly prevailing over the gale-force rush of air, Eve latches onto Moe's scrubber, exhaling all the air in her lungs to fight the rapid decompression. Her ears feel like their going to explode, she can't think of what else there is to do but to hold on for dear life and for Wally.

In the depot a very loud alarm sounds over the roar of air, the enormous compacting machines detect the rapidly dropping atmospheric pressure and debris flying towards the unsealed interior doors. Immediately recognizing that it threatens to depressurize the depot, and possibly the whole ship will be at risk. The machine closest to the door activates the emergency shut-off; the exterior hatch slams shut, sealing all escaping air, Wally and Eve drop to the deck.

Eve recollects her breath, Moe trembles uncontrollably in the stuck airlock, unable to comprehend the traumatic experience of almost being sucked out into space.

"…whoa…" is his first response, in more shock than relief.

* * *

"Here, lay him down here."

Moe obediently helps Eve carefully drag Wally out of the airlock, laying him on the vast flat space in front of the looming machines giving them light. Moe almost completely forgot his cleaning vendetta upon seeing the dirty man injured. Eve could not begin to express how thankful she was of the sterilization officer for conveniently showing up to save them in time; because now her mind was flaring up with extreme worry for Wally, who may or may not even live long enough for her to help him.

Eve gently lowers Wally on his back with her hand behind his neck, propping his head against his own utility bag as a headrest. Moe kneels quietly by Eve's side, both completely at a loss for words and saddened at seeing this poor man hurt so badly.

Wally's breathing is slow and raspy; every inhale/exhale was labored and painful, rendering him almost unable to speak. His skin was turning pale and losing consciousness from blood-loss.

"Wally…look at me..." Eve realigns his broken glasses and gently holds his head, to right it to her; his mind was too clouded with disorientation.

His vision can barely focus on her face, one lens of his glasses was shattered and the other cracked; but he knows she's there and being very gentle with him. But the pain of his tortured body and mind overtook the warmth of Eve's presence; he's too traumatized by the sick, deep gouge in the center of his chest. The exposed fragments of bone and torn flesh was making contact with the sparking wires of his pacemaker, which stung like a thousand knifes. Wally was in pain so bad he just wanted to scream and cry in agony, but with no strength left in him, he can only whimper so weakly against such tearing pain inside him.

Eve's eyes turn moist, the sound and sight of him on the floor half-dead, and in so much pain... she-...she couldn't bear it. She wanted to give him anything to wish away his suffering, to see the curious and joyful face of him she knew.

Tenderly she presses a finger to his lips, silencing his soft crying.

"Shhshhshh…its okay, its okay…" Eve softly speaks while she cups his wholly battered face; she delicately strokes his cheeks with her thumbs, wiping away the blood and tears of his pain.

"I'm here…I'm right here, for you."

Eve pecks his bruised temple with her lips; letting him know that the worst is over, he is safe, she is safe, and she is truly there to be with him, to care for him.

He is almost taken aback by her affection, his trauma fading partially from a warm kiss from Eve and replaced with a little blissfulness. He tries very hard to let her loving touch run through his mind to take it off the pain, and remains still to save what little energy he has left.

Eve turns her attention to his bright yellow coverall jumpsuit which is now scorched black and the area around the wound soaked in expanding red. She slowly unzips the seared jumpsuit, careful not to touch his chest to cause him any more pain. She opens his coverall, her stomach gets queasy seeing the protruding, smoking remains of his pacemaker device.

It has actually blown to bits inside the front of Wally's chest area like a firecracker; the surrounding flesh of his bare chest was a charred crust of 3rd degree electrical burns. She also notices the concussive marks of fractured ribs along with his numerous spots of melted skin from Auto's torturous electroshock beating. But what almost made her throw up is the sight of the most critical wound: a gaping puncture, the size of a half-dollar coin that ran through his destroyed pacemaker and ran through his torso; it was seeping dark, fresh blood through the blown implant's circuitry and was pooling _lots_ of it all over him.

She tries to collect herself, remembering she has had some medical schooling in the E.V.R.E. program and now is the time to put it to use. First things first, she pulls out her holopad taking a minute to use every X-ray, tomography, gamma ray vision to examine the full damage of his wound.

At the odd angle of the strike, the cane miraculously missed his heart by a mere millimeter, but destroying his vital implant and shocking his heart with 10,000 volts left it barely functioning, and his cardiomyopathic-rdden heart was beginning to slow at odd pulse patterns. Also, his crestbone was shattered, his right lung was punctured which was impairing his breathing, part of his aorta major artery was torn open and losing pints of blood quickly.

They were _all_ fatal injuries. The worry inside Eve was turning into distain.

Still lying down motionless, Wally uneasily eyes her from his position, painfully looking down at his blood-red chest and up to her glassy eyes. Eve gazes up from her grim analysis back at him; unable to talk, the look in his eyes asked everything. '_How bad?'_

"Wally…"

Her voice is soft but weak, reflecting the sadness behind the luring reassurance in her eyes. But Eve could find no way at the moment to comfort his unimaginable suffering, her heart sinks at the results of examining Wally's fragile and failing body that laid before her.

He was succumbing to severe internal bleeding, pneumothorox, dysrhythmia, and eventual ventricular fibrillation; that meant excessive blood loss, unable to breathe, drowning his lungs with his own blood, and sooner or later his deformed heart, without his pacemaker, will fail; and then…he will...

She tries to block that unspeakable three letter word.

"…you're going to be alright."

Eve's sadness is still present in her eyes, but now hidden behind her determination. He's going to be alright, as long as she was drawing air to help him.

Getting to work, she pulls out her field medipack, reaching for an anesthetic syringe. Eve carefully injects it into the side of Wally's neck; hopefully it should ease the worst of his pain.

As the sedative takes effect she pulls out a small canister of biodegradable foam; a temporary sealant membrane to patch up large or serious organ, muscle, and skeletal tissue wounds on the field until it could be properly stitched up.

Holding her breath to prevent herself from throwing up, she carefully inserts the canister's tiny nozzle into the seeping bloody wound; Wally looks away, wincing from the cold feeling of the metallic foreign object touching the sides of his innards. He closes his eyes uncomfortably when he feels the unfamiliar tingle of the biofoam dispersing inside his torn lung and aorta.

In seconds, the artery and lung are sealed, immediately stopping the free flowing internal loss of blood and lack of air.

Taking in a gulp of air, he tries to talk, but it proves a little painful even when drugged.

"Eeeevaa-(cough!)" The coughing spat out the blood that was in his lungs but it only made the pain worsen; his larynx was almost crushed in Auto's choke hold and his broken jaw hurt to make words with.

"Shh, don't talk." She firmly presses a hand to his lips. The exit hole in his back is sealed as well as part of his shattered crestbone, allowing Eve to access Wally's external pacemaker without any more bleeding.

"Sterilize his wounds, and then you can go ahead and clean him up." She instructed Moe, who sat patiently and silently by her side for the time to help.

Eve pours a bottle of antiseptic to go with his sterilization fluid. He eagerly begins to scrub away his blackened chest; upon contact of the peroxide mix, Wally winches sharply, groaning against the sting of his burns being cleansed.

Moe scrubs harder when he reminds himself to get the dirt, he presses the peroxide deeper, making Wally convulse on the verge of passing out even with the painkillers.

"DON'T HURT HIM!!" Eve shouts at Moe for applying too much scrubbing, he stops immediately.

"Sorry, just…been waiting to clean him up for a while."

He carefully scrubs Wally again, forcing himself to go slow and steady against his OCD; he looks over his shoulder to see her go searching. Though Wally could now breathe easier and not bleed out, she is far from relieved. she only has a basic first aid kit and she needs more advanced field surgery supplies to fully treat his wounds. But most cruical of all, he's still not going to make it with a broken pacemaker, and who knows how long.

"Okay, now you stay with Wally, I'll be right back."

Taking one last look at the ruined components of Wally's pacemaker, she flies off into the depot holoscanner in hand, searching frantically for something, anything, any piece of clutter or machinery that can function as close to any parts of a pacemaker it could.

* * *

"_ALL CLEAN." _His HUD shows not a single microbe left on him.

Moe finishes sterilizing Wally's body in what time that seemed to flash by for him, satisfyingly cleaning up 'Wally' as he had eagerly waited for ever since he arrived. He's glad Wally didn't complain, for Moe would suffer the wrath of an already distraught Eve.

Though he certainly knew why; not wanting to agonize this poor gentleman any further after what Eve told him what happened to him. Savagely beaten, tortured, and electrocuted by the Commander; and then thrown down here, compacted, almost sucked out into space. And now, he was slowly dying on the floor. He disregarded all contempt for 'Wally' over his mysophopia, wanting to offer anything to help him or at least make him feel somewhat comfortable with his company.

Wally let his gaze wonder over to the young man by his side; they have been sitting in awkward silence for some time. Finding that he may have strength to finally introduce himself after the little trek he put this person through, and to thank him as much as Eve does. Wally tries to offer his prosthetic right hand out to Moe, no easy feat. Its servos strain as they now rely on feeble reserve batteries without his pacemaker.

"W-(cough)-wwwaaalllyyy" His voice is harsh and coughing with blood and biofoam residue, inhaling between words and syllables. Moe looks at the mechanical hand for a moment and scrubs it out of habit, then shakes.

"Moe." He shakes Wally's hand gently, and then they turn their gazes back into staring at nothing, back into awkward silence.

"Em...oh?" Wally asks, trying to clarify.

"No, just Moe."

"Oooh…(cough)…kay....Em-oh."

Moe offers him a smile, remembering he couldn't even pronounce Lieutenant Eve's name right like his.

"Nice to meet you, too."

* * *

After minutes of frantic scanning through the entire depot, Eve returns with a rather sorrowful look. Speed searching through the entire depot, she has only brought back a handful of obsolete in _Axiom_ standard components. But she kept hope, she found something at least compatible to work on him.

She gets down next to Wally, presenting him each of the pieces. "You think any of these will work?"

Wally exams each part, shaking his head with a frail 'no'. Though he never knew how to work his once impervious pacemaker, none of what she had will work. They were too advanced pieces of nanotechnology-based electron chips, nowhere near able to conduct or fit with the ancient, silicon-based circuit board of his pacemaker.

She presents him with the last piece, all hope faded from her eyes when he refuses the last piece. She cursed _Axiom_ technology for growing so rapidly, and older tech being discarded the moment she needed it most.

Growing more desperate, Eve shakes her head in denial. "No…no, no, no there's got to be another way!" But she knew there wasn't anything else she could do, not after everything that happened mere minutes ago.

They wouldn't get to the medical centerin time depending on how fast Wally will bleed out, and even if they get there, they'd still get arrested as they are still wanted ward detainees. And the current situation with Auto didn't help, sure that he'll have her and Wally disposed of for sure if he sees them still alive.

Her desperation turns to panic, Wally dosen't have much longer, and the thought of him running out of life has drained all coherent thinking, at a loss for what to do.

Then her panic turns to hopelessness, the fatefulness of Wally's condition sinking in after much denial and determination to save him, but she can't.

Without treating his injuries and replacing his pacemaker, he had at best, less than a couple of hours. And he will…he will…d-die.

"Wally..." Her voice broke, mixed with a multitude of degrees of sadness. She doesn't look at Wally, she couldn't look at him, she was too hurt to look into the eyes of whom she was about to lose forever.

Wally painfully looked at Eve, who did her best to hide her eyes from him, still looking like she's thinking of what to do. But she doesn't, he knew what was wrong by just looking at her. He saw the glimer of gathering tears falling down her cheeks, and that voice, a sound he never heard from her. She was crying.

Wally knew. There was nothing left she could do for him.

Wally sat there for a moment, still in pain and a storm of thoughts circling in his mind, all pointing to one thing that was only a matter of time, dreading him and Eve: he was going to die.

Slowly, Wally reaches into his headrest bag. Still distraught, Eve glances over to see that he pulled out the plant, weakly holding it up for Eve.

"D…dir-rreck-(cough)…-tive…."

She takes it, starring at it in deep thought of how important this insignificant looking thing meant. Not because it was important to her mission. Because it was so important to why they are here; it was the source of everything that happened to them to this point.

Why they suffered ordeal after ordeal of close calls and unwanted attention, no...why _he_ suffered. Why it was the source of Wally's misery, with Eve trying to beat information out of him that wasn't there, and Auto trying to murder him over discarding it. And why it meant so much for humanity, for them to return to their long lost homeworld. How could so much significance be fatefully applied to this one ridiculous weed?

Eve looks between Wally and the plant; a great burden fell on her to choose.

She couldn't let her civilization be held unknowingly against their will in such a limbo of a cruise; the key to complete her directive was in her hands, she could free this ship and return to the long lost homeworld.

But, Wally, the love of her life, a humble, clumsy and unfortunate, but curious, gentle, and the most kind-hearted human being who ventured halfway across the galaxy, and endured through so much to be with her, including her own selfishness, abuse, and blind anger; and being tortured almost to death, and was now slowly and painfully losing his life on the ground before her.

There's no way to save him anymore, and all she could do was make him comfortable in his last moments. Yet even after pursuing her to just hold her hand in love, he was giving up his own dying wish for her and her directive.

She felt humbled by his nobility, he _never_ set himself before anyone and never asked for anything in return to insure that he would do whatever it took to satisfy her and what was important to her. He was content to sacrifice _everything_ for her needs, for her.

Because he loved her.

"No." She tosses the plant aside, surprising Wally. Even if the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, Wally deserved better after everything that happened to him, after everything he did for her, and shared with her. And now more than ever again.

"Directive." She holds her hand up to Wally, and, though still dreaded over the fact that this will be his last moments, she smiles at him, with eyes twinkling of unshedded tears.

She tries to speak through her sadness, in the most soothing voice womanly possible.

"You cared for me, now I will care for you."

She spreads her tender fingers for him to hold, to feel her love once and for all. To let him know that he didn't journey millions and millions of miles to die for nothing.

Moe silently looks between the two with a raised eyebrow.

Wally was humbled to see Eve actually set aside what she wanted so much and was willing to grant his greatest dream, to hold her hand. Eve understood his surprise, he had no idea she saw him watch over her and confess his heart to her. He knew it may be his last moments to live, and he wanted to give her the plant to satisfy her most important need. She had to save humanity, return this ship to Earth. But something in Eve's eyes and voice made him realize what he means to her now.

She loved him.

She loved him more than going back to Earth.

_Earth..._

A thought crosses his mind. Wally struggles to lift his hand up to Eve's; it's within easy reach of his grasp.

He slightly lowers her hand, Eve almost goes wide eyed.

"(cough) No…Evv..vahh…" He slowly and weakly pulls himself up.

Still clasping his chest to keep pressure on his wound, he reaches out to the plant with his mechanical hand's fingertips, pulling it to him, he feebly offers it up to Eve. "…take…pla...ant…"

"No, Wally, you mustn't—" Eve ceased from protesting when Wally places his hand atop of her's, a pleading look in his eyes.

"…evv..vah…ple...ase…(cough)."

A tightness in her throat formed when she accepts the plant from him. This may be his final moments and he does not want to accept his deepest wish before her directive for the needs of the many? Was it _this_ important?

"Errrr…." Wally tries to say another word, but it's hard to pronounce the sound the way his damaged lung is.

"Errrr...ph…"

Eve tries to understand what he's saying in the rolling sound of R in the pronunciation. She stares at the plant thinking.

"Errrrph…" That pronounciation reminds her of the soil in the boot.

"Earth?" She asks.

Wally nodds as much as he can, pointing his pacemaker. "Earrrph…." He realigns his glasses with his hand, and lifts his brow up and down, squinting his eyelids. Eve watches intently and thinks critically, he's trying to tell her something.

The way he acted like that, like he was readjusting his eyes like he would when he tried on a new pair.

Her eyes shoot wide open, a realization struck with a memory…

...

_**Wally finds his way to his 'room' where he gets to the shelf with his personal items, new glasses, replacement prosthesis, pacemaker batteries, etc.**_

"_**Aha! Problem solved." triumph that he has on a new pair.**_

**_..._**

…A memory of him rifling through his truck for anything his body needed. Which is back on—

**"EARTH!!!"**

Overflowed with hope again, she shouts at the top of her lungs. The realization of what he was trying to tell her with the plant. She _can_ save him! In order to do that, she had to complete her directive. It's unlike anything she thought possible, everything she could ever want or need!

"LETS GO!" With no time to waste she scoops up Wally, using her super strength to carry him in one arm.

"Wait for me!!" Moe ecstatically latches on to Eve's back, just as eager to help his new friends.

Eve draws out her plasma rifle, taking aim and blasting the garbage chute seal open. No time to wait for openings. She flies out of the depot with the two in hand. No longer filled with despair and hoplessness but now filled with determination for the return to Earth, if not for humanity, but for Wally. She has to save him. No..

She _is_ going to save the one she loves.

As the three leave the depot, they don't bother to witness the rare sight of the large automated garbage machines waving goodbye to them.

* * *

**And so the real challenge begins. To write the beginning of the climatic decision for the fate of Wally, and human kind. CHAPTER 27 SOON AS POSSIBLE!**

**I hope you've enjoyed this, a dramatic chapter i've anticipated to describe in words for a while. If that wait hasn't eroded my eager way to write it. I hope the editting doesn't irritate anybody, i just need to make sure it's appropriate to a degree and correct.**

**Read & Review!!**


	27. Chapter 27: Uprising

**Alas, all my engineering classes couldn't keep me front updating!:) But not that much farther to go in this!**

**I wish i had more ideas for this chapter, wanted it to be quick with action set in motion and in continuation of the plot's story telling. I hope you enjoy it.**

**I lost how many times i have said this but...I don't own Wall-E. Period. you still happy with it, Pixar?**

* * *

CHAPTER 27. UPRISING

A single steward patrolled the primary maintenance corridor, his peaked cap flashing a siren whilst scanning his line of sight for any suspicious characters from the day's civil unrest. The rioting has been controlled and the peace onboard has normalized for the time being. The escapees have spread throughout the ship but were in the process of being apprehended and sent to the brig. Two of the inmates, a rogue female E.V.R.E scout and an unregistered male, had the highest priority to be found. Only a certain number of stewards were sent out to find them. Cloned they were, but due to the lack of any sizable rates of crime or disorder onboard the ship, their numbers were kept to a minimum.

The lone unit stopped in his tracks, his gaze falling upon an odd trail of bright yellow. It was wet, thick, sticky, and nontoxic. Paint, a trail of it leading towards a storage compartment.

"Wrong."

His imprinted Code of Law and training kicking in, the steward opens the door. just as he suspected, the bland-artist from the ward, recognizing the red band on his arm, his bizzare paint covered attire, and his overcoated paintjob on every surface in the room.

Vingo got separated from Va-Qum not too long ago, being distracted by all the 'colorless' surfaces to paint on. So lost in painting the floor he wound up in here, ran out of places to paint in this tiny room. No surface to cover in paint to fulfill his habbit and now no place dark enough in there to hide with bright yellow. Vingo shook in fear at the peace officer, he had been found and who knows what these mean copies of men are going to do to him.

"You! Fugative, you're under arrest…" The steward bound Vingo in energy cuffs as he is too scared to emit a sound. "…for Public Code violation 8160: vandalism of Buy N' Large property. And security code 5150 for escaping psychiatric evaluation confinement."

The steward drags the helpless painter outside, empathetic to Vingo's treatment other than the consequences of his actions.

The lid to the trash chute next to them vibrates, drawing a confused look from both the steward and Vingo. The vibrating gets worse, and a whining jet noise coming from inside the chute. Suddenly, it explodes into blue hot flames with three figures flying out of it.

The steward was puzzled by why he saw a cleansing officer emerge from the most unlikely place but he recognizes two of the figures, one female E.V.R.E. scout and an unknown filth covered man. The exact suspects he was ordered to find.

"You Two! Stay Where You Are!" Tapping an emergency command into his COM, he raises the alarm.

"I'm arresting you for attempting civil unrest and breaking out of confined evaluation!" The steward shouts to them as he readys his earpiece to take an alert snapshot. The female scout turns to face him, plasma rifle in one hand, and the dirty man in her other arm, he was badly injured and carrying a boot. She had a terrifying glare even to him.

"Uhh, Don't you mov—" As he hastily takes the snapshot, the scout flexes in his direction, pointing the rifle point blank at his face as the image is captured.

Vingo was let go of his bounds, the steward cowered into the storage room, feeling fear for the first time in his service life.

Vingo looks in awe as Eve locks the hiding steward, and then looks over to a familiar friend in her arms. He was gut-punched at seeing Wally looking weak and bloodstained, something really terrible must've happened to him.

Eve, Wally, and Moe headed down the corridor before he could thank them, but he gives chase anyway. Immediately recognizing the man that freed him from trouble once already, he guesses they must be trying to help him; so will he.

Unable to find words to speak while running so fast because of the scouts speed, he could create certain sounds that resembled actions or words; almost as same as his artwork. With his multi-color selection paintbrush. He switches colors as fast as the buttons can and each sequence emits a harmonious shifting sound. He mastered this as a form of instrumentation along with his art, like music.

And on that note, he found what to say as he trailed Wally and his friends.

Wally hears a familiar sound behind him; though his hearing and health diminished he could distinguish the voice of Vingo. Groggily, he looks over to see Vingo trailing them, trying to match Eve's enhanced speed. Vingo made a sound with his brush, familiar, upbeat Sunday Clothes.

Weakly raising his brows, Wally gets an idea; he presses the play button to his recorder and cranks the volume as loud as it can go.

_"...Put On Your Sunday Clothes, There's Lots of World Out There!..."_

Eve looks at Wally for a second, puzzled by the source of the _Hello Dolly _song. All of a sudden, familiar figures with red arm straps gathered behind her and around her. She stops in her tracks, she ready's herself to draw her plasma rifle, unsure if they're a threat.

"Wawwy!" A stuffed-up janitor wielding a vacuum cleaner approaches them, surprised to see his friend, the rest of the ward rejects happily recognize their savior and greet him with a welcoming ramble of thank yous and hellos. Remembering Wally set them free and developed a friendship with them, she lowers her rifle.

Va-Qum's expression goes grim at seeing Wally's current pale state, and his bloodied chest.

"He's hurt, badly." Eve hastily states to the reject crowd, they all gasp in shock and worry, murmuring what happened or how _bad_ or mortal it is. "But I'm going to save him…" She was about to take off when Va-Qum spoke up.

"Then we will hewp! Wawwy thaved uth all, and we will all thave him!"

The rejects wildly cheer their support. Wally weakly smiles in gratitude, 300 inmates all loyally bound to Wally's debt after setting them free by accident; even in a race against time and his failing body, their circumstances couldn't be better.

"All right then, come on!" Eve rushes everyone to get moving, the rejects stampede down the corridor behind them, determination filling the air.

Images of their intiidating _'CAUTION: ROGUE HUMANS'_ begin popping up everywhere they look, and the cheering inmates trailing them echo through the night-lit corridors of the _Axiom_.

They will no doubt draw unwelcoming security attention to themselves, but Eve is counting on it. Even with three hundred escapees against who-knows how many stewards the entire ship's security had to send after her, she has her reasons for charging down the halls at night like the cavalry.

She hoped that everyone will see her snapshot, showing that Wally is still alive with the plant, and she is going to roam the ship until she can blast Auto's treason and _A113_ protocol out of the water and back to Earth.

Most of all, she wanted Auto to see the security image; of her aiming her plasma rifle's sites down on the camera, as if aiming directly at Auto himself. The intensity in her beautiful eyes were far deadlier than her combat gaze. She looked full of rage and protectiveness akin to a mother protecting her cub; she held her wounded Wally up still possessing the plant, showing Auto what he did to him and to her, and that they are still going to return to Earth.

Anyone stupid or suicidal enough to cross her path towards Auto will regret it dearly. She could inflict terror as much as awe and seduction into any man's heart, and that's exactly what she wants to do.

She wants Auto to feel the petrifying fear while starring at her deadly stance as did to the unfortunate steward who lived only to take the shot. Showing what he's about to face for after ever harming her beloved.

She was going after him, and was going to make him pay.

* * *

On the Bridge, the _Axiom'_s newest Captain Auto looks at the incoming security footage of rioting crewmembers. His damaged eye was treated and covered with a biodegradable patch, sealing his new laser-etched eye until he can get a prosthetic for it.

The footage played on a holoscreen, showing the maintenance sublevels being overran by hundreds of escapees. It's the second time in one day for that to happen on an already unfortunate and unstablily changing day for him.

He had to abruptly become the _Axiom_'s 7th captain after relinquishing Mr. McCrea rather unsteadily. It was for the greater good no doubt for him, but he couldn't help with considering all possible factors in the chain of incidents that have led up to this point, and what it would lead to. After that 'Wally' had somehow, brought out emotions from Auto of all people, through his impervious mask of controlled and calculated mindset and brought out primal rage from within him, leading him to dispose of the pathetic garbage collector, _and_ to take the pleasure from it out of bloodlust without a moment of hesitation.

But now for the first time his mind was wondering freely, contemplating all possible what ifs and consequences of what transpired when he took the necessary measures for the _A113 _Protocol. But there were problems, no one else knew of the secret directive, and _no one _but him even should. Letting the ex-Captain and Lieutenant Eve know of a code black directive was an act of treason itself let alone the mutiny, but if word got out about how he _also_ committed an act of torture on Wally, murdered him, the lieutenant, and (if need be) Mr. McCrea to just tie all loose ends to just cover up his exposure of government secrets? What would the ship's crew and population think of him? What would they do? Auto felt a slight twing of worry for his being and for the stability of events to come. What will life be like from now on?

'_CAUTION: ROGUE HUMANS.'_

A distracting 'wanted' screen materializes, showing a snapshot of two familiar individuals; the ones who caused all that civil unrest not to mention his own troubles, the ones he thought he disposed of and still have the Forthwright-forsaken seedling.

Auto maintains his perpetual frown, but his remaining eye turns into a solid red glare, seeing the lieutenant holding on to that garbage of a man with the plant.

"Impossible."

He thought he had them killed for sure, truly if no one could survive being sucked out into space. But…they are still alive and have the plant.

'_Are they defying reality for my expense?' _Auto's anger threatened to boil up again.

The ship's Deck Plan showed their exact location, headed from the garbage airlock up the main maintenance corridor and forward to the Main Deck; it was obvious enough they were going to find a way to get this ship back to Earth.

_'Over my deceased decomposing corpse.' _Auto comments mentally, he was becoming more and more unlike himself, but one mindset was the same: _A113_ must be followed by any measure necessary, regardless of what outside forces tried to intervine.

Turning to another console, he opens a channel to the ship's security center.

"_Attention all Security personnel, this is the Captain…" _He took a moment to emphasize his new title. Unsure if others might think of it as strange if they ever cared to truly listen who is in charge.

"_**This is Security, Go ahead Captain." **_But the security obeyed the captain, no matter who his or her voice was, thet followed orders. Auto continues.

"_We have a critical situation developing in the main sublevel, an uprising of escaped psychiatric patients from the medical evaluation ward lead by two wanted individuals. One male in yellow and one female E.V.R.E. scout in white. They are suspected to be armed and considered extremely dangerous. Mobilize all steward units as soon as possible to quell this threat. Please advise: you are authorized to use lethal force if necessary, I repeat, authorized to use lethal force at your discretion." _

"_**Aye, aye, Captain, our entire force is responding to the crisis as we speak." **_

Down below on the main deck, hundreds, maybe a thousand stewards paced out of every hallway, hatch, and corridor from patrols to the armory. All headed below decks to deal with the rebellion.

Auto just stands back and awaits any updates as the situation unfolds, for the time being he will just command the task at hand and contemplate later about how to progress a new way of life without Mr. McCrea's hindrance, which was busy trying to be heard through the elevator shaft from his estate...

_..."Auto! AUTO! Let Me Out Right Now! YOU HEAR ME? This Is Your Last Chance You Traitor!"..._

...Ex-captain McCrea pounded away at the elevator doors, ramming it with his hoverchair and fists to at least draw attention to himself.

"MU-TIN-Y! Mutin-ee! Mut-ineee..." He ran out of stamina and willpower to keep up his protesting; his outcries of mutiny and angry demands to be released went unnoticed and not replied to by Auto as he did for almost an hour. He lets down his hand in a last pitiful smack on the elevator door; it took no damage at all. McCrea slumped over on the door, panting and exhausted. "Stupid…helms…man."

'_CAUTION: ROGUE HUMANS.'_

The main computer resounds through the ship, light floods McCrea's room from the giant hologram of Eve's wanted snapshot on the ceiling dome of the main deck. Looking out from the interior window, McCrea squints to focus in on the image of Eve. She was still alive, and Wally too! He focuses his eyes more on the object in Wally's hand, suddenly overcme with surprise.

"The Plant!"

Thinking fast he opens up the Operation: Recolonize manual, a plan brewing in his mind reflected by the smirk of newfound determination. If he can't get to the plant, the plant will come to him; and Auto's _A113 _to a grinding end. "We'll see who's powerless now!"

Lowering his chair, he slides under his computer console and pries open the access panel; he can't carry out this plan without the first important thing, sending a message. "Ah-HA!" He rifles through the computer's inner workings and locates the right set of wires. Stripping the right two wires and cross-contacting them...

...

...Numerous holoscreens materialize everywhere, filled with static and a scratchy voice and image trying to work through it.

"…_**T..(static)…esting, testing,…Is this thing on?"**_

McCrea's fiber optic feed struggles for reroute power to enhance the image. But sure enough if the connection holds, he establishes a live broadcast throughout the whole ship.

Passenger's and crew stop and stare at the televised message from the ex-captain in confusion at this time of night and his frantic appearance. But to Eve, Wally, and the mob, they stop in their tracks at a corridor intersection now surrounded in holoscreens; Eve listening intently, relieved that her deliberate snapshot made it to him and a plan of action set in motion.

McCrea's stays low and whispers as loud as he can, even though the whole _Axiom_ is watching him.

"_**Psst, this is the captain; I am locked in my room. Eve, Wally, if you are watching this…" **_He holds up the manual's page, showing the visual instructions of a scout bringing the specimen to the Holo-detector. Which happened to be… _**"… bring the plant to the Lido Deck." **_

**_..._**

…Broadcasted even to the Bridge, Auto frowns at the ex-captain's clever attempt to inform the Lieutenant, and further complicate the crisis at hand, thus the risk of _A113'_s failure in possible reach. A very small possibility, a million to one, maybe even a billion to one...but they still had a chance.

Working quickly, he tries to shut off the broadcast and send reinforcements down upon Lieutenant Eve's location before they get any other ideas…

...

..."_**I'll have the holo-detector activated for you. Now hurry! Auto's probably goanna cut me off---" **_The broadcast feed goes dead, Auto shut it off but rather too late, for Eve and Wally now know where to go. Eve looks between the screen and Wally in her grasp, nodding in approval and determination. Just a few hundred meters to get to the forward decks, not far at all; they can do this.

"HALT!" A monotonous choir of voices echo throughout the corridor. All passerby crew, the rejects, even Eve nearly bolted upon seeing what was ahead of them that unnoticeably formed during the captain's broadcast. The entire hall ahead of them was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of stewards, a blockade of security clones. All of them armed with riot gear, shields, and electroshock hand weapons set to 'Kill'.

The rejects remain frozen in fear, they turn to Eve, looking at her for that they're in _big_ trouble and wondering what to do. Not very courageous against authority figures, they were.

The lead steward forcefully addresses them. "Citizens, we herby order you to stop what you are doing and surrender at once. If you refuse to comply—" **BOOM! **

His speech was cut short by a burst of white-hot plasma to his torso from Eve, he vaporized instantaneously. Everyone gasps at Eve's sudden act of blasting away the man, she doesn't have time to negotiate or surrender, her Wally was dying in her arms for Forthwright's sake.

" I'll _Never S_urrender To Auto's Mindless Puppet Army! I Know Your Watching Auto! Do You Hear Me? I'M NOT GIVING UP!" She shouts to everyone.

"FIRE AT WILL!" The next lead steward raises his weapon to fire, the other stewards following suit. Eve blast him away too, killing as many stewards as she can before they could react.

The hall lights up with bolts of energy as Eve and the stewards fire away, the rejects run around dodging every shot barely. Eve shields Wally with her body as she shoots, but remains careful not to reopen his wound.

The stewards fall down fast to her plasma bombardment, each shot takes out half a dozen as they're grouped together; but fresh clones always takes the deceased's place, becoming a relentless barrage of reinforcements. Eve finds herself stepping backward, losing ground.

An electroshock bolt grazes by Eve's arm. "SON OF A...!" she shouts in pain, but another shot hits her square in the thigh.

"AAAAAaaaaaaagh!" Eve screams as she tumbles over in pain and dropping her plasma rifle, clutching her bleeding but wholly intact upper leg. Now the stewards move in to take her and Wally.

Va-Qum notices their main fighter and savior defenseless."We have tho help'th them! Attachk!"

He charges at the stewards with a battle cry, the rejects follow head on, forming a human tidal wave towards the steward blockade, some form a circle around Wally as Eve as they tie up her injuries.

The stewards and rejects collide, each inmate combating trained superguards with whatever blind rage they had. Pertie and Moe poked stewards' eyes and splattered them with substances. Va-Qum blinds them with dust from his vacuum, Brella using his umbrella as a club, the EMT using her Defib to electrocute them. The rest just pounded the security relentlessly.

But the prepared guards outmatched and outnumbered them, nearly effortlessly knocking down their opponents and apprehending them. The stewards force the fighting mob back, slowly but surely advancing towards Wally and Eve.

The massager in a straightjacket approaches Wally gesturing his enerby binder to him, his clenched teeth, heavy panting, and the animalistic look on his face meant he was beyond insanity and bloodthirsty; and was about to let it loose on someone rather quickly. Though his mind was clouded in pain, Wally figured he wanted him to set him free, a good idea, only if he goes insane and bloodthirsty on the stewards and not him.

The guards approach a lot faster; the line of rejects has given way. Weakly, Wally activates his arm's cutting laser, the red beam hits the energy-binding straightjacket, shorting it and setting him free.

"FREEEEEEE!"

The massager goes berserk, finally free of confined movement. Faster, stronger, and far more ill-tempered than Eve herself, the massager leaps over the crowd with arms flailing and shouting gibberish, primal sounds of an angry beast. Grabbing every blunt and sharp object in reach, he charges the entire steward army, ready to rip them to shreds.

The massager crashes through the line of stewards, and rip them to shreds he does. The carnage becomes so horrific everyone looks away, covering their heads from flying stewards body parts and their dying screams against such a demonic massager.

* * *

Meanwhile, Auto's frown becomes disdainful, watching the count of stewards drop as they were suddenly being killed off like flies for some unknown reason.

_How? It's just a collective of degenerates against genetically-enhanced clones of stewards!_

"This situation just keeps getting worse and worse!" Auto's frustration is beginning to seep into his mind, but he tries to remain wholly professional as always.

Another holoscreen materializes out of the corner console, a live message from the ex-captain's quarters.

Auto opens the vid-com feed, Mr. McCrea laughing and holding his hand up to the screen with… the bionic iris of Auto's remaining eye goes wide, shocked and infuriated.

"_**Haha! That's right Auto, look what I got: the plant!"**_

"Not Possible!"

"_**Oh, you want it? Then why don't you come and get it, blinky!"**_

"No!" Auto frantically shuts off the link, grabbing his electroshock cane as he heads for the elevator…

…McCrea shuts off the video feed, and the projected freeze frame image of Wally holding up the plant. He stood in front of it the whole time to fool Auto, making him look like he was holding the plant.

Auto bought it, and was on his way. The second part of the plan was complete, and now time for the third. McCrea pulls all of the wires out of the console wall, killing all the lights to the room. The elevator chimes, and McCrea hides himself, prepared.

Time to take out the self-promoted 'Captain'...

...The elevator doors open, Auto cautiously steps out with the cane in hand and scans the dark room.

"Mr. McCrea?" No answer. "Mr. McCrea?" he calls out again, _could this be a trick?_ He wonders as his eyesight scrolls over the Captain's portrait, the sixth image distorted somehow and moving.

_If the ex-captain were that clever…Wait a minute!_

The portrait of McCrea or rather McCrea himself, lungs at Auto off of his hoverchair. Auto reflexively catches him with his super strength, but the ex-captain weighed an easy 350-400lbs on top of him.

"Get Off!" Auto struggles to get a head-locking McCrea off of him.

"What! Too Heavy For Ya, Huh?"

They both topple into the elevator, closing and moving back up to the Bridge. As the doors open, they shuffle with each other all over the deck, bumping into command consoles as Auto spins in circles as he tried to get McCrea off of his back and McCrea head-locking Auto trying to subdue him.

The central elevator opens up, Gofer emerges from it and his attention immediately turning to the fighting, seeing his Captain getting attacked by McCrea.

"McCrea! Cease And Desist!"

Upon hearing his other treasonous officer, McCrea uses all his weight to kick Gofer back...

He uses a lot of weight, more than just actually kicking Gofer off his feet, but sent him flying through the interior window and screaming all the way down to the Lido Deck below.

The 250 meter fall doesn't kill him, but the sudden stoppage does, just barely a foot away from landing in the pool.

* * *

The massager pants like an exhausted Tasmanian devil, drenched in clone gore standing triumphantly over the reminants of the steward army. Hundreds of their bodies littered the deck, the rejects, Eve, and Wally stare at him in uneasy relief that their main obstacle has been dealt with…rather bloodily.

A single, surviving steward tries to rise, still ordering everyone to surrender. His order was met with a blunt fist through his face, at last finishing the stewards.

Eve shakes the horrific scene out of her mind, finished bandaging up the last of her minor injuries to her bicep and thigh. The rejects cheer wildly and victoriously.

Even Wally cheers with them, the excitement was working him up; but he cheers too much and starts coughing painfully, clutching over his heart. Eve notices it and reflexivly tends to him, gasping when she sees blood in his breath.

"Ev...uh..." his rough voice ridden with weak panic combined with unbearable pain, his internal wound has reopened during the fighting and his deformed heart was beginning to fail.

No time to help restitch or grieve, she grabs Wally, the plant, and flies down the corridor to the Main Deck. The rejects struggle to keep up with her accelerating speed.

"Hang On For Me, Wally!" She fought to keep back her tears; he's getting closer and closer to that three letter word for when he stops breathing altogether.

* * *

The skirmish was getting closer to Auto's favor, he was far too stronger and enduring than the flobby McCrea. McCrea was just about to let go when eyes grow wide in excitement; he found the Holo-dector activation console, just one button and time to go home!

Shifting his weight, he edges closer to the console.

"Not Good! Auto hangs onto McCrea trying to swing him away before he tries to reach the button.

But is half a second to slow...

McCrea slams on the button with all his free hand's might."GOTCHA, AHA HA!"

Operation Recolonize, the return to planet Earth after 700 years of abandonment, was about to begin.

* * *

**I hope i was a worthy read after the norm of a weekly update for those who have or haven't seen the movie. I now have work and school, but i'm doing my best to get all these last chapters done in my normal time. At least it keeps the awaiting tension up. **

**R&R if you like to, don't be afraid to point out anything i should fix, i'm sure i may have to. **

**A fanfic trailer scrolls by with Whodarep08 in a deep, announcer voice: **

**_"Coming soon to a internet-capable computer near you! On the eve of returning to mankind's home planet, the freedom of an entire starship's populace is at stake, controlled by a 6ft 4 mutineer. Who two people's unbreakable love can save humanity? Prepare yourselves for Thee most epic, heartracing, heartbreaking, dramatic, and climatic adventure chapter of all time...i think. _**

**_CHAPTER 28! THE _AXIOM_ ADVENTURE!"_**

**Guess what that reminds you of?**


	28. Chapter 28: The Axiom Adventure

**I hope i've written this anticipated chapter correctly for the events are about to get more intense and intene quickly, a great struggle for survival on board the BnLS _Axiom_, a struggle in all directions. Caution: If you don't want to see two important characters get seriously injuried and/or killed, read no further!..._tempting to know? ...Then read on._**

**And if you haven't figured out the hint at the end of the last update for the title for the plot, it starts with a P.**

**Disclaimer:...well, i'm sure its a natural reflexive thought of what i'm suppose to say at this point, so i'll spare saying it for ya because its obviously true i don't own a certain film.**

* * *

CHAPTER 28. THE _AXIOM_ ADVENTURE

At exactly 12:31:00 AM Greenwich Time, 28th of June, 2805 AD, all 1,550,000 people on board the BnLS _Axiom_ were awakened by sudden floodlights and klaxons blaring all over the ship.

Pools, holo-Ads, shops, the artificial Earth-time environment of night shuts down everywhere. Trams and hoverchairs became automated, following highlighted green light paths leading towards the Lido Deck. The passengers and crew had no time to ponder over what was happening, before their hoverchairs sealed their occupants with inflatable EVA life preservers. Passengers astray at night and those who slept were sealed in plastic helmet preservers, and hovered out of their cabins or hallways. Everyone looks around chattering in confusion and worry, totally unfamiliar with this procedure let alone the surroundings outside their holoscreen virtual-realities.

Jon and Mary among the 1 plus million passengers and crew watch everything happen as their hoverchairs start moving on their own. They enter the concourse to the Lido Deck, they are awestruck seeing the entire human population of the ship gathering on the Lido Deck, forming massive circles over the solidified swimming pools by the tens of thousands; the deck is massive enough to hold the populace in the center and around it on balconies.

_What's transpiring must be extremely serious._ Jon shared that thought with Mary, but she was eying a group of terrified toddlers crying with an android NAN-E.

"_Remain Calm. Remain Calm…" _It was pitifully trying to silence them, completely unaware to the fact of the mass confusion around the infants that they don't understand. Mary just wanted to reach out and cuddle those children, to settle her own fear; she didn't understand what's happening either.

The klaxons suddenly stop wailing, another sound taking its place; a whirling up whine of hydraulic actuators powering up for the first time in 700 years, it was coming from the Con tower plaza. Everyone turns to the source of its origin, murmuring in awe as the Buy N' Large logo on the floor was moving. The blue circle within the logo was rising as a lipped cylindrical tube, with a special slot embedded with a biologic symbol, a place to put a live specimen inside it.

A captain's whistle resounds the deck, the dome holoscreen activates for a live broadcast from the Captain. But everyone is shocked to not receive answers to this whole dilemma but more questions and awe, seeing the captain they knew struggling with the first officer. The passengers get caught up in the conflict, watching it as a televised fight between wrestlers.

McCrea tries to keep his face in the fiber optic image, and trying to be in command.

"_**Erg, Ladies and gentlemen…(Auto tries to pry him away)…this is your- Ugh! captain speaking! We are having a slight problem—Ow! With the helsman here. Aagh, Let Go, Auto! Everybody please (punch) OW! Remain (punch) Calm (punch) Ow!..."**_

Eve dashes out of the Main Deck concourse, taking in the image of over a million people gathered here.

Her enhanced vision locks on to the cylindrical device at the center of the plaza, a green holoscreen materializes over it with a specimen symbol, signaling her to it. The _Axiom's_ Holo-detector.

"YES!"

She held Wally tightly in her arms, his skin was turning ghostly gray and he started bleeding from his mouth, he doesn't have much time left; but she will save him, and kicks her antigrav boots to full power, flying towards the holo-detector.

"Almost There!"

* * *

Auto used all his strength to lift a struggling McCrea off of him to peer over the interior window console, facing the Lido Deck down below. Over a million of blue uniformed passengers could see him over the still active broadcast, cheering for the ex-captain they know to overpower him.

Auto felt so hopelessly outnumbered by all these...people.

They had no idea of what was true happening or what he was trying to accomplish and yet he was going to be turned against. No matter how simple he could explain to them, they will condemn him. Word would soon spread that he intends to keep everyone aboard this for eternity if need be. Though they weren't suppose to return to Earth, they will turn on him, and Forthwright knows what they'll do to him. With no possibilty of support after Gofer's death, now it was him against the population. It frightened and angered him with unfairness to his core, yet he tried to somehow stay in control of his boiling emotions.

McCrea was starting to wear Auto down; his weight combined with his head-locks were becoming too much for him.

"Ugh, What's Wrong, Auto? Losing Your Cool?"

McCrea tried to force Auto to surrender, noting the changing expression of pitifully suppresed panic on the unreadable officer's face. Stress was slowly overtaking the futile mental attempts to remain calm and in control; feelings of being cornered, all chance of help for his cause lost and pushed beyond the limits were gripping Auto. He keeps reminding himself it's for the protocol; but it's becoming less and less relevant against his instincts in the hopelessly declining battle.

A white speck zoomed over the blue crowd below, towards the raised Holo-detector. His bionic lens zooms in on the high speed object.

His mental capacity to remain calm and control vanished, no longer in coherent thought at seeing the impossible sight to the end of his world.

Lieutenant Eve, still alive, with Wally and with the plant, flying towards the Holo-detector; just about to end _A113_ and return to Earth.

Auto finally snapped.

**"ENOUGH!"**

Out of desperation, he slams his hands down on the helms controls, flipping McCrea over his head and landing a few meters away…and slides further away, the deck seems to be tilting...

...

...Wally holds the plant out to the Holo-detector's slot as Eve flies him towards it, just a few meters away.

The Holo-detector somehow tilted to the side, Wally's hands slam into the side, breaking the bones in his hand and dropping the plant, it rolls over the side of the plaza and into the crowd. Eve stops midair confused and shocked. The Lido Deck tilted too.

The entire _ship_ was tilting...

...

...Auto had slammed on the horizontal stabilizer controls, commanding the ion maneuvering thrusters to list the _Axiom_ twenty degrees starboard. The ship began rolling on its longitudinal plain so fast that the artificial gravity fluctuated, unable to keep up with the turn on its axis.

Auto's sanity was still in a down-ward spiral, reduced to nothing but a panicked control-freak, but he now knows he has one very big advantage to regain the control he lost of the battle: instead, he now had control of the ship.

He presses as many commands as he can into the helm's controls, kicking the evasive starboard roll into overdrive...

...

...Mary began to feel falling out of her hoverchair on her right side, the deck was tilting dangerously and her seat remained locked in place, allowing her to slip off her chair. She calls out to Jon for help; but she sees he fell out of his chair too, panicking as she was.

Everyone fell out of their chairs. 1.5 million people all fell out of their chairs, screaming and sliding across the Lido deck as the _Axiom_ rolled past 45 degrees to the starboard.

Panicked and confused at this chaotic turn of events, Eve forces herself to set Wally down on the upside of the Holo-detector, yelling out to him over the chaos around them.

"Wally! Stay Here! No Matter What Happens, Stay Right Here!"

Wally nods and stays leaned over the side of the cylindrical device. Eve flies off to find the plant, her mind racing impossibly fast, desperately searching every spot between and beneath falling passengers, across hundreds of meters of shifting deck.

The _Axiom_ kept tilting by the second, people slid faster until they fell vertically, they piled up on the listing side; literally hundreds of thousands of people burying one another. Some strong passengers and crew clung to the floor crevices, stopping themselves from falling and holding onto other passengers. The rejects among them have clung onto whatever surface they could on the deck floor.

Mary held Jon from a light post, the toddlers she saw earlier were falling straight towards Mary, her eyes widen seeing them crying in terror, and sure enough they won't survive to fall.

"Jon! Get Ready To Have Some Kids!"

At the right moment, using her untapped strength, she swings Jon around to cup the free falling toddlers, letting go of their clinging to the floor and sliding to the mosh-pit of passengers below. The toddlers stop crying as they come to safe stop, cushioned by the fat passengers; Eve was floating above them, searching for the plant underneath the mass of humans.

A crashing sound rocks the Lido Deck.

"LOOK OUT!" Mary yells out to Eve in terror, she flips around to feel equaly terrified.

A maglev monorail has sliding straight towards them. It derailed off the balcony, and was plowing empty hoverchairs out of its way down like an avalanche.

She flies straight towards it, slamming her open hands hard on the falling train, using all of her suit's servo-enhanced super strength and antigravity; it comes to a grinding stop, just a few meters above the passengers, barely saved from being hit. Eve struggles to hold it up, it must weigh several metric tones and her superhuman strength and nanosuit could only do so much; already feeling several of her muscles and tendons being strained, her arm and leg graze wounds from the hallway battle earlier stung like a heated blade.

* * *

Auto switches the maneuvering thrusters off; the _Axiom_'s starboard tilt comes to a standstill at 75 degrees. He stayed magnetically bound to the deck as McCrea flailed around on the listed floor like an upside down turtle trying to get up, cursing Auto's devious turn of the tables.

With the attempted sabotage of his directive terminated, Auto lets out a breath of relief he never knew he held.

And now, he has to seal the safety of _A113_, and ensure that all means of returning to Earth are gone. He presses the Holo-detector command, closing it for good...

...

...Wally felt the Holo-detector activate, it began sliding downwards into the balcony floor.

"Oh no." Though weakened, scared, and dying, he uses all his strength to stop it from going down; but it's useless, no surface suitable to grip it and it weighed several hundred kilos.

The Holo-detector is almost half-way lowered into the floor; thinking desperately, he does the only thing he could do. He wedges himself under the upper lip of the Holo-detector.

Using his legs, he presses his back against the lowering disk of the device. The mass of the Holo-detector forces his legs down, squashing him into a crouching position. Wally grunts in fiery pain as his knees and the disk of the device press up against his torso and his wounds.

The Holo-detector jerks to keep lowering; its hydraulic gears grind and struggle against the object wedged in its path...

...

...The Holo-detector button flashes on and off. Auto is taken aback by the malfunction warning. Just moments away from shear success of his directive and now something extremely important has to break down on him.

"What! Now!" Auto frustratingly opens a security camera access to the Lido Deck facing the Holo-detector.

A holoscreen materializes to show an abominable familiar figure jamming himself into the device. Wally, the source and cause of all the chain of events on the _Axiom_, Auto's worst enemy, one he thought he had killed already.

"NO! WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY!"

He repeatedly presses the Holo-detector button furiously...

...

...Wally fought to keep the Holo-detector up with all of his fading strength, but he was in a losing fight. He felt several bones snapping out of place in his legs and ribs; he bit down hard on his lip to fight the unbearable pain, causing him to bleed out emensively. He was so tired, he just wanted all this to end, but he couldn't, it felt it was killing him; and it was.

He can't stay like this for long. The effort was draining what little life he had left in him, it wouldn't be before he losses consciousness, and the disk will soon compress his form, flatten him into a gory mess.

He had never been more scared in his life, a million times more than the most nightmarish of the experiences in his past on Earth. Scared not only for his life ending just momentarily, he was scared about Eve. She hasn't returned with the plant yet to insert it. Once the device disappears into the deck, it will never be raised again.

Eve will never complete her directive. She, along with Moe, McCrea, Jon, Mary, Va-Qum, Vingo, the _Axiom_, all of humanity…all will never set foot on Earth again…trapped in space, forever.

"_**NO!" **_

He will not let that happen at any cost, even his own life. As long as he was still breathing, he had to keep fighting. No matter what…_For humanity…for Eve._

Wally summons his very life-force to hold up the device, feeling his untapped might of three decades worth of garbage-lifting labor rush into his legs and arms, and pressed up into the Holo-detector. He felt his wounds rip open again, his chest puncture started to bleed profusely through the biofoam. His ankles also snapped against the weight of the device trying to crush him, pain flared up in every broken bone supporting the device; the servos in his prosthetic arm short circuit against the stressful load as well. His heart felt like it was repeatedly being stabbed, ceasing pulse and starting again; after an hour or so without his pacemaker, cardiac arrest was about to set in but he ignored it.

He has already passed the point of no return even if they somehow saved the ship; he was going to die anyway, and he was going to die trying.

Eve and the passengers stare at the unbelievable sight of the dying man hold up the Holo-detector with his bare hands. The Holo-detector was slowly inching in the opposite direction! But Eve was beyond terrified for Wally, he looked so much in pain and so frail that he could fall apart any second.

"WALLY!"

...

McCrea gasps at the holoscreen, still down on the deck floor; he wasn't only watching Wally lift the cylinder, he was watching Auto, a terrifying action coming across him. He whipped out his activated electroshock cane, holding it high above his head, ready to strike down a death blow. Right down on the Holo-detector button.

"NO! DON'T!" Too late.

The cane came down into the console with all of Auto's might, the button exploding into a shower of sparks, forcing the Holo-detector into emergency overdrive...

...

...Wally felt the Holo-detector's emergency override activate on him. He immediately cried out in agony as the bones in his arms and legs simply snap like toothpicks against the quadrupling load.

Collapsing to his shattered knees and hands, Wally was now holding the device against his back. Wally felt multiple snaps throughout his chest, his ribs cracking, succumbing to the intense pressure of several tonnes of metal on top of him. His skeleton was being compressed, his internal organs failing, blood was freely flowing out of him from every wound and every orfice; his heart was in the process of ceasing to function. There was so much pain inisde of him that he almost couldn't register it in his faltering mind.

His leg is just about to slip into the crevice of the Holo-detector's deck compartment as Wally's vision blurred and tunneled, his hearing turned to silence and time seemed to slow down. He didn't feel so much pain as he did feel spent. He felt so unbearably cold and tired he just wanted to surrender badly to sleep that he will never wake up from right then and there; to just let his body fall apart, banishing all of his pain and slip away into peace he long deserved. He moaned as his body failed all over, somehow his pain became nothing but numbness, and images of the hellish life he survived flashed before his eyes.

This is it, in just an few seconds, all he has survived and suffered through will come to an end for him. He will loss consciousness and his hold on the holo-detector; and he will be crushed to death instantly, joining the spirits of his long lost cleanup brethern and forgotten bloodline family. His scarred and tired being will be touched by death's sweet release momentarily.

"WAAALLLLY!..."

He heard Eve mournfully cry his name out to him, her voice was the only sound that raised above the silence that overtook his senses, it sounded choked with pain and saddness he never thought he would witness of her, for the beautiful and lovely being she is.

He can almost see Eve in the distance from his squashed position. She was struggling to hold up a derailed tram from crushing Jon, Mary, toddlers, and many more people that he had meet in the last 24 hours of his life than he's ever known in the three decades of his life.

She cried out to him again, begging him to just let go, not wanting him to die. She just wanted him to let go, step away and let the device fall just to be sure he was okay and in her arms. But she cried out because he couldn't possibly escape to live; he will be forever taken from her.

Though as much as he can't escape, he knew he shouldn't as well. Wally can't let Auto win and keep the human race from Earth against it's will, and Eve can't just let the helpless passengers she was helping suffer the same fate. And it seems fate had played against Wally one last time, taking him from his Eve.

It tore at him to his soul that this was how his journey for her had come to this, having turned from a quest across the unknown for her love into a fight for survival and a fight for the human race. And he was losing, but at the same time, he and Eve had learned to completely love each other. But at the cost of his very own life, to be sacrificed just to make a plant fit into the holo-detector's slot.

There was no other way. He had to keep his body wedged in order for the plant to fit, he knows she will find it and succeed, she had to. He had to die trying to do what was more important for her and everyone they knew.

Her eyes were streams of tears from the distance as she cried against keeping the tram up, and feeling so powerless to save him.

Wally wanted to tell her not to worry, that he won't suffer anymore, hoping that him finally being allowed to rest in peace would be enough for her to feel happy for him. But he knows she will never be happy again; she wanted him to live, to have him by her side to hold him and tell him that she loves him. He was the whole world to her and so was she to his.

But they will never see each other again, he will never hold her hand or kiss her, letting her know he loves her with every particle of his being has he had ventured so far from home for. His future and all his fantasies of spending the rest of his life with her all gone.

But he knew that he wouldn't die completely. She will remember him, Eve will still remember everything they felt together; and somehow he thought, as long as she and everyone else knew of what he did and felt with her, he would still live on through her love.

The last of his memories flash before him, they were very short compared to the three decades of his incomplete lifetime, but they were the very happiest memories of all. Centered on after him first setting eyes on Eve, his beloved white-haired angel. Seeing her up close, taking care of her on Earth, following her throughout the _Axiom_, holding her close in space, having his first and only kiss with her, comforted by her; and now, about to die in front of her.

Somehow it didn't bother him that those memories were shot-lasting, in fact, they were the times he experienced true happiness.

He had another human being, or rather, an angel of a human being; a beautiful, wonderful, and caring person such as her, learned to love him despite what obstacles he encountered and the horrible things he had to endure to come to know her. She had showed him things that he never knew that existed, that a hellish Earth was not the only life possible, that there are souls who care about him, and through her, she had taught him all about what love means.

He had kissed Eve; and through that simple physical act he had shared with the angel of a woman whom he learned everything beautiful that life offered, had allowed him to experience everything he could possibly feel about love.

But the most warm and happiest thing in his life was just loving Eve, and knowing that Eve loves him too.

That was all he could ever want to cherish after living what he lived through, and he will take those feelings of finally finding his place in Eve's heart into whatever realm of existence that awaited him after death in this life.

Wally's eyesight and coherent thinking narrows to a pinprick, his eyelids felt as heavy as the Holo-detector itself; he couldn't stand to stay awake anymore, he was slowly slipping away, towards the threshold between life and death. It takes all his willpower to fight against the overwhelming temptation to just let himself die, and takes one last cherrishing look at Eve.

Even though he stood at the edge of the abyss, he loses himself as his darkened vision lit up from the radiant white aurora of her crystal-clear blue orbs in tears, glowing with all the beauty and love of her soul.

The eyes of the angel known as Eve. _His_ Angel.

It was his glimpse of all of Heaven about to welcome him.

"...ev...uh..."

Though his lungs were collapsed and could no longer breathe, he spends the last of his life-force to mouth his final words to her; though almost inaudible, Eve could make out what he was trying to say.

She didn't want to believe this was happening, but it was, and just looked at him with all the concern and love she could show as he was about to say what was his good-bye.

"I.."

He will never hold her or kiss her again, but he will tell her something that he always wanted to say to her in person. Something that will remain true of him to her forever.

"...L..lo...ve...yo—"

With no adequete blood left, the last of Wally's life-force is spent and he closes his eyes.

His leg slipped into the crivise.

Everyone on the Lido Deck gasps and look away; Eve screams in horror as she could only watch.

Wally disappears under the disk of the Holo-detector, all of its held back weight crashes down on him with a sick bone crunching/flesh splitting sound of his body being crushed like an insect against several metric tonnes of pressure.

But it didn't hurt him one bit, he feels all of his pain vanish instantly in a sweet moment of peace before his world faded to oblivion.

* * *

A murderous smirk crosses Auto's face, finally satisfied his pest of a foe was dealt with. It wasn't just satisfying, it felt…excilerating.

"Good riddance." Auto says under his breath, though did not go unheard by McCrea.

McCrea could only watch, seeing that innocent, poor garbage man die in the hands of the madman at the helm.

_No. No. Enough! I can't just stand by so uselessly! I Have To Act! _Enough was enough from the homicidal maniac that was once Auto, time to put him and his treachary to an end.

McCrea braces his flabby arms against the deck, lifting up his torso. Sending impulses to limbs he long forgotten how to use, he manages slip one leg under his belly, feeling the cold deck against his bare foot. Then the next foot, and…presses his hands away from the deck floor...

...

...Everyone onboard diverted their attention to the still active visual broadcast from the Bridge. Not believing at first of what the ex-captain just accomplished.

He is the first hoverchair-bound human in 700 years to stand up on his own two feet!

...

He shifts the weight in his left leg, lifting his foot off the deck and a few inches forward, then the same way with his right leg. Now he was the first to stand _and_ walk!

He gripped the control console railing, baby steps towards Auto with all the strength he could grip up the slope of the deck.

The sound of everyone onboard collectively cheering in encouragement resounds through the ship, giving all the determination he needs to take down the homicidal maniac in control of _his _ship.

"Auto!"

Auto whips around, baffled by the impossible sight of the overweight ex-captain, standing, on his own lower two extremities.

"I _Order _You To Stop This Madness, Right Here, Right Now!" McCrea straightens his posture, to affirm his superiority, and rightful command. Auto however remain steadfast, albeit more smug and in control.

"You are not in command, I am-" McCrea countered "YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO BE WEARING THAT HAT! YOU ARE A SECTION-EIGHT! RELIEVE THE HOLO-DETECTOR AND SURRENDER YOURSELF! NOW!"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, so you'll have to force me to, _Captain_." He emphasizingly tapped the gold peaked cap on top of his head, McCrea's captain hat.

He was surprised he let his own confidence take over his actions, the anguish turning into evil overzealousness after disposing Wally. He felt too into the rush of taking extreme measures and wanting to see his opponents in great displeasure.

"Then you leave me no choice, I'll have to take it from you."

Auto didn't flinch at the ex-captain's challenge, chuckling instead as if he heard the most preposterous thing ever. McCrea could stand now, but he's still an incredibly weak blob of flesh.

"Well then…" he spins the cane between his fingers in a display of martial art precision showmanship, lighting up in electricity.

"…if you think you can take me, then come and get it, Benjamin." He taunted McCrea with the same threatening look he used on Wally. But McCrea could take him, its his command he must reclaim.

Auto charges him, bringing his cane to bare down on McCrea. But he catches Auto's wrist, stopping his death blow; McCrea grabs the cane handle with both hands to make sure Auto doesn't break free from his grip and stab him. They fought for the cane, Auto tried to swing McCrea around but he countered with trying to kick him off, like Gofer.

He looks over to see the shattered window where Gofer was kicked out; somehow it reminded him about something of those windows. An idea formed in McCrea's head, not a crazy one, but friggin' crazy one.

He shifts his body until they were facing the other way, facing the exterior windows. In a simultaneous motion, McCrea lets go of one of his hands, grabbing the captain's hat off of Auto's head. Then he kicked Auto backwards with all his might, they each flew across the Bridge from McCrea's powerful kick.

McCrea landed on top of the consoles, Auto landed hard on the window pane.

Auto tries to straighten up, but... a very faint sound spreads under Auto's weight on the viewport. Using his bionic eye, he looks over, careful not to move should it be-

He freezes, the window was cracking. He stood frozen where he was, careful not to move or...

McCrea braces himself against a console, interlocking his arms around the railing as tight as he can. Also holding in his hand besides his reclaimed hat, was Auto's very electroshock pace cane.

McCrea speaks in the most authoritive tone he could muster against the mutineer.

"Get off of my ship."

He tosses the cane towards the window, exhaling. For the first time in Auto's existence, he felt fear. True, well-deserved fear.

**"NOOOOO-"**

The window shatters on impact, Auto didn't have time or air left to scream as he was sucked out into the vacuum of space, his body disappears into the blackness as a speck indistinguishable from the trillions and trillions of stars.

* * *

**If you guessed the Poseidon Adventure, you are correct!**

**Do not fret non-movie watchers! It's not over yet. The _Axiom_ has yet to return to Earth and Wally yet to be revealed if he is truly dead or alive. **

**R & R & i hope you enjoyed it.**

**Chapter 29 soon!**


	29. Chapter 29: All Feet On Deck

**So close to the end now, i'm ripping through my mind to find the most descriptive yet touching words for the climax.**

**I hope this short one is good. Like i said, its taking me a bit of thinking to greatly describe everything leading up to the ending is what is the most awaited part of writing this story.**

**I so solemnly swear i don't own this film.**

* * *

CHAPTER 29. ALL FEET ON DECK

The emergency blast shields instantly close over the shattered window, resealing the detected breach of the hull and preventing the gale force decompressing air from sucking McCrea out of the Bridge. He drops to the deck floor, slowly peaking out of one eye to see if he was still alive and Auto was gone.

His plan worked. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief, he stands up triumphantly.

Placing the peaked cap back on top of its rightful wearer, the Captain returns to the helms station and the fiber optic broadcast. An uproar of cheers resonate throughout the the halls of the _Axiom_, seeing their Captain McCrea emerging victorious.

As he reactivates the ships stabilization controls, the _Axiom_ levels out, artificial gravity returning to normal. People on the Lido Deck spill out from the listed side, some hung from the higher spots they clung on to, but they were unharmed.

The battle was all over, and he won.

But Wally didn't. For everyone on the ship that celebrated victory, only one person was crying her eyes out for him...

...

...Fiinally free from suspending the monorail, a grief-stricken Eve immediately rockets over to the Holo-detector.

She tries very hard to lift the device up, but it weighed several thousand kilos, it didn't budge. She lifted it with all her might, still in tears and her gut-wrenching despair growing.

"_**Eve!" **_The Captain's voice temporarily draws her attention to the Bridge broadcast on the dome holoscreen.

"_**You need to get the plant! Then you can get him out of there!"**_

Eve turns to the recovering crowd, shouting at the top of her tear-choked lungs.

"PLANT! SOMEONE FIND THE PLANT!"

There were only a few confused and traumatized looks in return, but a small male voice breaks through the dumbfounded crowd.

"I'll Look For it!" Moe tries to dig himself out of the mass of passengers. Not stopping to straighten his composure, he starts scanning the deck for any sign of the boot. The rejects fan out to overlook the whole starboard side where it must've fell.

Though still shaken, the passengers try to scramble to their hoverchairs. Some even to their own two feet, encouraged by the Captain's courageous standoff.

After a few minutes of searching, Moe's pace slowed, he probably overshot it by now.

"_FOREIGN CONTAMINANT."_

"Huh?" His HUD locks onto an unsterilized bio-organic object lying just a few meters away, no genius needed to figure out what it was.

"AHA!"

Picking it up, he holds it over his head like a trophy.

"EVE! I FOUND IT!"

She still couldn't keep the Holo-detector from squashing her beloved further; her anger grew when Moe just shouted out that he found it.

"THAT'S GREAT! NOW BRING IT HERE QUICK!"

Before the short cleaning officer could try to sprint as fast as his legs will allow, Va-Qum swoops up the plant with his vacuum cleaner.

"Hea! Cath!" He launches the plant in the direction of the Holo-detector. But before it falls to the ground, a passenger catches it, and passes it to the next. And the next. Passengers, crew, and rejects form a human chain fire-line to get the plant over to the Bridge Plaza.

Until Brella gets it, and no way up the balcony to hand it to Eve. But he launches it with his umbrella, sending it flying towards Eve.

She catches it and shoves it into the buried slot of the Holo-detector.

The ship's computer instantaneously analyzes the plant and its place of origin. Calculating and tracking with great speed as it was programmed for 700 years ago.

"_IDENTIFIED: __Ailanthus Altissima..."_

The Holo-detector slowly rose out of the deck, the mainframe computer voicing the finding.

"…_PLANT AUTHENTICY AND ORIGIN VERIFIED. NORTH AMERICAN SECTOR ZERO ZERO ONE, PLANET EARTH OF THE SOL SYSTEM. DIRECTIVE A1-03 – DELIEVER SPECIMEN TO _AXIOM_ HOLO-DETECTOR - COMPLETE. __OPERATION CLEAN-UP ACCOMPLISHED. INITIATING OPERATION RECOLONIZE__…"_

It was done. Her directive was finally complete, and was officially voiced, but she didn't give a single care at the moment.

She kept watching the Holo-detector, slowly rising up from the deck. A figure of a human body could be seen emerging from the crevice of the device; the surfaces around it were coated in thick red. Her eyes were overflowing as she clutched her heart, distraught, hoping for the best and assuming the worst about what has happened to Wally upon seeing his own blood everywhere.

The lip of the device fully emerges from the ground, and so does Wally, his body slumping to the deck floor in a sick gurgle, twitching lifeless; the pool of blood quickly expanding and growing darker under him.

Eve gasps in horror seeing his body; no human could've survived what happened to Wally...

...

"_ALL SYSTEMS READY FOR COURSE SET TO EARTH." _

The light of the Lido Deck dimmed as the dome formed into a gigantic hologram of a celestial map; displaying the Milky Way galaxy and the red dot of the _Axiom_'s current position just outside the galactic rim. The ship's AI began yottaflops of navigational/mass-balance calculations as the map continually zoomed in from the galactic scale to the Orion arm, to the Oort Cloud, and finally locking on to the destination, the third planet orbiting Sol.

"_TEN SECONDS TO HYPERSPACE JUMP." _

The countdown timer appears on the dome above, next to the locked on target planet of Earth, 25,000 light-years away.

...

"…_9…"_

...Eve nearly vomited, her mind futily tried to deny the unthinkable and horrifying sight in front of her, of what was left of Wally...

"…_8…"_

Wally's limbs were bent in several unnatural directions, compound fractures of broken bones protruded through his skin and coveralls, soaking his suit in dark, thick, blood red and exposed bone marrow. His prosthetic arm was crushed to scrap, it simply fell off it's joint attachment and shattered into pieces of loose nuts and bolts. His skeleton was compressed to a pummelled and squished pulp no thicker than a few inches. But she losses it when she turns him over to look at him, he looked like a poor victim in an ancient horror film. She involuntary spewed whatever sparse contents in her stomach on the deck when she sees what happened to Wally's face...

"…_7…"_

...His entire left side cranium was horrifyingly disfiguratived and concaved, bone and gray matter fractured through his crushed skull and endlessly poured fluid. His glasses shattered on his face, causing so many gashes and lacerations that his face was rendered almost unidentifiable. But his eyes were closed blissfully, as if he didn't suffer in his final moments, happy that his weary being was now peacefully at rest.

"…_6…"_

Though useless already, she convinces herself to gingerly place a finger to his neck, checking for a pulse to see if even a drop of life left in him...

"…_5…"_

"No…" Her voice became as choked up as her reddened eyes. There were no vital signs, his body only twitched lifelessly out of spinal reflex.

_"...4…"_

"Wally..." Her voice crackled with a sob forming.

She pleaded that this wasn't happening, that he isn't dead. Even if he wasn't, only the quick return to Earth to his spare pacemaker along with the most advanced medicine and whatever deity that harbored his life-force _and_ was listening to her, could save his life from fading out of him. She could only await for the next few seconds to the next few minutes, to her it felt like waiting for an eternity.

"…_3…"_

She cradled Wally's broken body in her arms as tight and tenderly as she can while she let out her despair, her white nanosuit stained dark red of his blood. Tears flowed freely from her eyes like a waterfall, her tear-droplets landed on his deformed face, her tears of unimaginable pain, worry, and love...

"…_2…"_

...The _Axiom's_ Recolonization preprogramming took over all its functions; the massive ship's Ion engines fire, yawing the vessel into the correct position for the jump. People onboard felt the relative motion of the ship changing its course. But everyone remained standing in silence, lowering their eyes in respect and grief for the poor man, feeling the same sadness his apparent lover felt. Mary started to sob as well on Jon's shoulder when she sees Wally...

"…_1…"_

Deep within the _Axiom's_ engineering decks, a long forgotten, bulky, and technologically incoherent machine was slowly spinning up to life beneath the twin fusion reactors of the great starship; the Faster-Than-Light drive.

Outside the ship, traces of Hawking radiation formed a bubble of negative energy in the space surrounding the _Axiom__,_ The Planck particle acceleration of the drive's core whined up with the countdown, about to light off as the final note struck…

"…_zero."_

_..._

The _Axiom_ disappears in a blinding gleam of colors, the surrounding starlight warped around it in a glowing tunnel of blue-ultraviolet shift, a tunnel leading into incomprehensible nothingness as the fabric of spacetime ripped open. The most pleasing sight for an astrophysicist.

The great starliner jumped into hyperspace, a extradimensional domain where special relativity doesn't apply; where instead of reaching a destination via a starship's relative forward motion, the destination is brought to the ship via a quantum tunnel that exists beneath normal space. A wormhole that folds the distance between point A and point B, a short cut through reality. Allowing instantaneous transportation across the astronomical distances of the universe.

Passengers and crew prayed for dear life, for the ship to hold together as it rocked violently through the unstable slipstream jump between spaces.

Amidst the rush, Eve held onto Wally, crying out to him to hold on to whatever of his soul was left in him. In the back of her grief-stricken and desperate mind, she prayed for the space between her and Earth to bring the ship to it faster, not minding the danger of instantaneous interstellar travel.

_Hopefully instantaneous enough to bring him back..._

* * *

**Almost there! Just 25,000 lightyears and 2 or 3 more chapters to go!**

**R&R and hope you enjoyed the update. **


	30. Chapter 30: Coming Home

**Quick chapter for story flow. But don't fret anubody, for its almost time for the ending after this!**

* * *

CHAPTER 30. COMING HOME

Blackness. Infinite blackness speckled with trillions of stars.

The dead silence and the calm twinkle of the distant stars were suddenly shattered by a blinding flash of colors and blue shift appear out of nowhere, the starlight warping around the gravitational glitch of a wormhole.

A single Buy 'N Large starliner emerges from the opening in space-time.

The BnLS _Axiom_ zooms through normal space, the sudden acceleration from the inertia of hyperspace to a fraction of lightspeed in relative motion causes everyone onboard flying off their feet to the back of the ship from the G-forces.

The ship rockets through space, slowing down as it approaches its destination: a brownish-blue planet with a phlegm-colored atmosphere and oceans; and a single orbiting moon.

The third planet from Sol.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Sector _NA-001…_

Hal sat obediently where his master once told him to almost 11 days ago, at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge.

His spot was littered with twinkie wrappings and spilled cans of beans. He was out of food to scavenge for in the truck, and there was nothing to look for in the city to eat except for a bunch of lush, green objects that recently started spurting out of the ground across the city.

Hal whines in boredom, 11 days is not a long time for humans but for a mutt or for any canine of that matter, all measurements of time were irrelevant; a dog thinks everything takes and lasts forever. Worry was seeping into Hal, he thinks his master may never return—

Hal shoots his head straight up, a red dot of light materializes in front of him, he wages his tail wildly. The dot zooms down the bridge to the dried up river bed below.

Suddenly strange things for Hal started to happen. Thunder from a sonic boom and the roar of distant rocket engines echo throughout the entire sector, causing the ground to shake. The daylight starts to darken, Hal looks up to the sky to see a titanic shadow casted over the land as an enormous shadow eclipses the sun through the polluted clouds, like the sky was falling.

More red dots appear before Hal, he eagerly gives chase to them as he runs to the vast concave in the Hudson Bay zone, anticipating the return of his master if he is in that thing falling from the sky.

The keel of the _Axiom_ plows through the clouds high above the landscape, rocket motors fire up from bow to stern, decelerating the city-sized starship from atmospheric reentry to a gracefully descent. The red dots slowly triangulate over their target, the deep man-made chasm in the center of the Hudson Bay, the _Axiom's_ landing pad.

Maneuvering thrusters burst in several directions, carefully aligning the ship with the docking clamps. This is it, everything must be perfect, no mistakes; any change of speed fast or slow, or if the straight alignment with the landing point is crocked, it'll all come crashing down in a fiery and ungodly destructive display of explosions and death akin to an asteroid impact.

The keel spires descend into the landing dock, a few thousand meters to descend and decelerate. And then…after a few breathtaking moments and just a bit slower…

The rush of wind caused by wake of the seer-majestic size of the behemoth blasts the region with hurricane force gusts of air, plowing clouds beyond the horizon and blasting walls of sand in all directions, toppling skyscrapers and trash towers in the distance.

After a few minutes, all is dead silent once again.

The dust settles to reveal that the clouds have dissipated from the wake, shining clear unpolluted sunlight over New York City.

And the docking clamps have gripped the shape of the _Axiom's_ hull perfectly, bringing the vessel to a complete stop. Touchdown!

The desolate New York City is dwarfed by the presence of the massive starship, 10 times taller than any skyscrapper and casting a shadow for miles. Now it was at rest in the Hudson Bay as it first left Earth 700 years ago.

At the base of the ship, hundreds of pressurized docking hatches unseal themselves to the atmosphere outside, ramps extending to the gateways of the boarding terminal; the hatches open up to the thousands and thousands of awaiting passengers and crew of the _Axiom_.

Everyone stands where they are at, trying to adjust their eyes to the harsh sunlight of the deserted landscape. Then they stand their in bewilderment, taking in the foreign image of their homeworld they didn't know they left so long ago.

The Captain takes the first step off the ship, Jon and Mary follow. The gravity is a bit strong on the populace, having become overweight and calcium deprived in the zero-g environment of space, but one by one the humans take slow steps out to the terminal, awestruck by the new sight of being planet-side. The captain awes in amazement as he looks around, the sight of Earth on the surface was wonderful, but what was more wonderful was that humanity has finally come home.

"MOVE!! OUT OF MY WAY!!" Eve screams over the chattering crowds in the _Axiom's_ corridors, she zooms to the medical ward and took an advanced field surgical kit without permission, and with good reason.

She tightly cradled Wally's body in her arms, careful not to drop him or crush any of his broken organs or bones in her grasp. She hadn't stopped crying ever since hyperspace.

She brushes through the crowded exit with all haste, hovering over the terminal scanning urgently for Wally's home.

She hears a mutt canine barking up at her, she instantly recognizes it as Hal. He started whining, saddened at seeing his deceased master the way he is. Eve notices too when she sees that Wally's body started to reek a terrible stench, his skin was turning gray and had stopped bleeding altogether. He's been clinically dead for about 4 minutes since the hyperjump and already lost all of his blood. Not good, all the remaining life had finally bleed out of him and in a few more minutes if she doesn't replenish his cardiovascular system and get his heart working again, his brain cells will disolve without flow of oxygen, all that'll be left is his corpse about to rot.

"Wally! Please! Stay With Me!!" She searches the land desperately, in 7 to 10 more minutes he will be lost from her forever.

Through her moist eyes, her HUD locks onto the shape of a utility truck on the Brooklyn Bridge about 3 kilometers away, to her mind it felt like 3 more light-years away.

She rockets after the truck, going supersonic as her antigrav boots kick to full power; her desperation fueled her drive to save him no matter what. She hears pleas from Moe and the rejects to slow down and wait for them, but she doesn't care for anything except for the man dead or dying in her arms; the love of her life.

The universe around her was not relevant to her anymore. Not her old recolonization directive, not the Captain, not the ship, not the Earth, only Wally, the being who loved her more than life mattered to her now. She will not let him fall into the abyss without telling him that she loves him back, that he will not die so early without ever feeling the good things he never had while he was alive. How it felt to be held, to be kissed, to have a dream come true, to be loved a whole life long. She will see him open his eyes to her again, she will tell him she loves him.

She _will_ save him, it is her directive now.

Captain McCrea notices Eve's sudden departure, and removes his peaked cap in respect as does all the passengers and crew. Some started praying for Wally's survival, the poor gentleman that gave everything for them to be where they are now.

It's up to the Lieutenant to save him now; McCrea offers a soft prayer for her and the man she loves more than life itself.

"Good luck."

* * *

**Narrorator:**

**_"Will Eve save Wally from death in time? Will they finally hold hands and kiss like there's no tomorrow?! Will they finally be together or will Wally be lost to her for all time?!_**

**_Brace yourselves everyone, and tune in next time for Wally's finest hour, for the 31st and final chapter of the Novelization: Humanized! will be coming soon to a internet capable computer near you!"_**

**Alrighty! R&R & if anyone has suggestions for what should be in the final chapter, please feel free to let me know so i will write it in. It may take me a few days to draft it up so be patient. **

**i hope you enjoyed it. Almost done!**


	31. Chapter 31: Together At Last

**Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for: the final chapter and the fate of Wally! Will his life slip away from his broken body and be lost to Eve forever? Or will he be rebuilt and resurrected, to hold Eve's hand and live happily ever after?**

**Well, there's only one way to find out! **

**Enjoy!**

**If you are uncertain of any of the futuristic medical practices that Eve uses to try and bring back Wally, just wiki them and read up on it. And these medical practices do not speak for personal opinion, but for entertainment purposes only.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights of this film, now and forever more.**

* * *

CHAPTER 31. TOGETHER AT LAST

The solitude of the Wally's open _BnL_ utility truck is shattered by a sudden blast of wind, a figurine landing on her feet after flying here at supersonic speed, and cradling the body of the truck's occupant.

Eve rushes inside the truck, her every thought and movement has to be going at flank speed. Hal rushes in behind her, whining to see his master wake up again.

She lays Wally's lifeless body on the metal floor, and begun rotating the shelves to find his prosthetic spares, struggling to remember precisely where he kept his glasses the last time she was here. She searches frantically, already suppressing her tears for the time being. She had no time to cry, not now; she had to act and act fast.

The shelf full of obsolete medical supplies and crude prosthetic components comes into rotation, Eve stops the shelves cycling and scoops up a pump-like device, Wally's spare pacemaker.

She drops to her knees by his side and unfolds the field surgical kit she brought.

The backpack sized kit suddenly activates into an autosurgeon; a compact, sterilized, multi-armed biotechnologial machine that contained injection canisters, numerous scanning systems, cell membrane generators, and operating tools of the most advanced regenerative medicine of the 29th century.

Eve rips open Wally's tattered, bloodied coveralls and gets to work; she had no time to ponder over what else she has or doesn't have in the kit, or how much of her medical training to operate this techno-contraption was limited. She had to bring Wally back in the next couple of minutes before his mind rots away. Every second counts.

She starts with the most critical damage to Wally, his crushed skeleton.

The mechanical operating arms form into dual-clamps, and each clung into both sides of every broken movable joint and extremity. The piercing clamps inject liquid periosteum into the marrow and cartilage of his broken bones; while pulling the bones into full length at the same time.

Eve tries to ignore the sickening sight of the compound fractures sink back into the flesh leaving open, bloodless wounds, on top of the crunching sound of Wally's bones snapping back into place, it seemed surreal to watch a human body unfold into its proper shape like a crunched up piece of tin foil unfolding itself.

His arms and legs straighten out to normal; the injected fluids instantly solidify his fractures into new bone mass, making his fractures disappear. Then his crushed ribcage, vertebrae, and skull are decompressed by suction clamps, and then injected with the skeleton-patching liquids reshaping them from concaved to proper form. Smaller fractions are dealt with by lightning speed injections of the hematopoietic liquid by Eve herself. In a few seconds time his unfolded, patched up skeleton has set and returned to it's normal form.

She has her bioscanner analyze the physiological damage done to his internal organs. His lungs had to be repressurized; his brain showed traumatic concussion bruising, his liver was squashed to jelly and had to be replaced, and he has extreme tissue tear damage in most of his tendons.

She has the information relayed to the autosurgeon's flash-cloning device to create the new liver needed and prepare for an operation; inside a translucent canister was an embryo of a human liver rapidly morphing into shape. Also at work were the prosthetic-processing arms that began repairing Wally's ancient and scrapped mechanical forearm, the autosurgeon's processor visually learning, understanding, and working the functional design of the prosthetic in milliseconds.

While the new organ formed she has to get inside his torso to repair his internal injuries, and quickly.

She uses a surgical laser to cut open his abdomen. With no blood left in his body it made less of a mess as she pries into the clean-cut incision, while she barely keeps herself from getting queasy while sticking her gloved hands into his innards.

Her hands move fast but a bit shaky as she slices through cartilage to his damaged vital organs. As hard as she tried, shouldn't fathom the sense of violation she was doing, probing the organs of her lover with her own hands.

The autosurgeon pings, indicating the flash-cloned liver and rebuilt arm is complete. Almost half a minute passed, she had to go faster!

Eve had already cut her way around the surrounding stomach tissue, freeing the damaged liver from its diaphragm cartilage attachment and extracts it. She pulls out the destroyed liver, the dark organ responsible for fluid distribution and blood cleansing looked like a squashed yam from being compressed; Eve's hands were drenched in thick gore and leaked liver fluid. Shaking her head she sets the squashed organ aside and the autosurgical arms place the duplicate inside his abdominal cavity. With speed, precision, and no regard to disgust, the autosurgeon implants the new liver inside the diaphragm. It reattached blood vessels, injected proper fluids, and instantly stitched it up with biodegradable cartilage within seconds.

To his lungs, she takes two tiny nozzles of O2 out of the kit and jabs them into the punctured air sacs. She felt a flow of oxygen, re-inflating his respiratory system and sealing the lungs with the biostitches.

With all of the torso wounds out of the way, she finally prepares the spare pacemaker by sterilizing it while the autosurgeon slices out the destroyed one from Wally's chest. The arms form tweezers and pull the blown pacemaker out of Wally's chest cavity piece by piece. Eve slows her pace down to take a look into Wally's opened chest, seeing his deformed heart for the first time with her own eyes. It appeared like it was a chewed and swollen organ with all the blood cavities in the wrong place, a birth defective heart.

She tenderly installs the device into her beloved's misshapen heart with care. Recalling what knowledge she had of ancient silicon-based circuitry, she looked over the functions of the spare pacemaker and the scarring of his delicate circulatory system, noting where every copper wire and every pump goes inside the ventricle cavities and valves.

With the last wire in place, Eve believes that she has it implanted correctly to function, but now Wally needs a blood transfusion, having lost all of it from prolonged and profuse bleeding.

Using the autosurgeon's flash-cloning erythrocyte pump, Eve makes numerous IV injections into every major vessel with freshly generated oxygenated blood with plasmatic fluid, pumping Wally's body with 10 pints of new A- blood volume.

With his circulatory lines being refilled, she at the same time pneumatically injects amniotic/embryonic stem cells into his torn muscles, nerves, and blood vessels; the regenerative embryos rapidly seal the numerous open gashes and burnt flesh to ensure they don't bleed out again, the injections included his cranium, and the splinted spinal membrane in his back.

Within another minute's time, after reattaching his rebuilt prosthetic arm, extracting the broken shards of shattered Wally's glasses from his face, and final patches of biofoam to his incisions and lacerations, the pummeled pulp of a garbage collector was now fully healed.

One last thing to do to bring him back.

Eve prepares a wireless defibrillator, rubbing both electrodes for a charge. Both pads in hand pinged fully charged and she takes a deep breath; this is going to be the most important moment in her life.

She places the pads over his heart, she mentally prays for this to work…

"Clear!"

…and shocks Wally's heart, sending the electric shock to jumpstart his pacemaker.

Wally's pacemaker was activated; its blood distributor was pumping his new blood. Eve gently presses two fingers to his carotid artery, but no pulse came from his heart…

Time slowed to a crawl, every nanosecond felt like an hour.

…Eve her held her breath for every second that passed…

...she waited…

...and waited…

...and waited...

...

…_thump thump…_

_..thump thump…_

A very faint heartbeat echoes in Eve's ears as loud as music to her.

Wally stirs, his eyes open slowly and he remained on the floor unmoving, starring at her.

Eve remained wide-eyed seeing her deceased lover suddenly awake. She couldn't believe she actually resurrected him. She let out all the air she held, her whole world fell back into place and back to normal. All her pain disappeared seeing him alive and well again.

Now she could give him the thing to make everything complete, to hold his hand. "Wally…" She speaks in her sweet voice, removing her blood-stained gloves and holding her slender and loving hand out to him waiting for him to take it.

Wally just stares at her. Eve isn't the least bit confused, he's right in front of her, waiting to give the happy ever after he always dreamed of. Wally doesn't reach out for her hand; he just sits there unmoving, starring blankly at Eve. Something about his eyes…

Wally moves, his organic hand brushing past Eve's arm. Eve expression goes from rejoice to bafflement. _What is he doing? _Wally lays himself on his belly, like he's trying to crawl like a baby. Eve turns him over to get him to face her.

"Wally. It's me, Eve!" She points to herself, using her sweet voice to emphasize herself to him.

Again he just stares at her with a blank face, as if he doesn't know who she is. Eve could only speculate amnesia for his bizarre behavior, the concussion he had must've temporarily knocked out his memory.

Working with that theory, she looks around; maybe something could refresh his memory. "Oh." She picks up the Rubik's cube and the light bulb, the bulb shined as she touched it. She puts the trinkets in his hands; hopefully he remembers how much he liked finding these things.

He barely turns his head to look at the unknown objects in his hand. He had no idea what they are. Eve gets the lighter from one shelf, maybe he will remember the night she was with him in this truck. It was one of his greatest memories he had of sheltering her and sharing his treasures with her.

She flicks the lighter on in front of him, but Wally doesn't seem to acknowledge the tiny little flame; he doesn't even register the soft glow of heat radiated from the flame.

"Wally?"

Eve was slowly becoming worried. Why didn't he recognize things they way he should after she just restored him? Something's missing…

"Oh! I know!" Of course, something was missing. Eve rushes over to the VCR, pushing the play button to_ Hello Dolly!_

As _Put On Your Sunday Clothes _played its cheerful tunes, Eve looks back at Wally expectant to see him be himself again. But Eve's eyes shot wide open in shock and confusion instead.

Wally was flailing his arm at the junk filled shelves, he couldn't even try to control his arm's extremity functions like his fingers or joints even though he can. He couldn't even move his lower body, as if he was paralyzed, he even drooled uncontrollably.

He tries to crawl with his limp arms like some primal, brainless creature.

"Wally?"

Eve stares at Wally, her confusion quickly turning into panic. _WHAT IN FORTHWRIGHT'S NAME IS WRONG WITH HIM?_

Hal sniffs his revived master, but barks at him as if he didn't know the person at all, not the master he knew.

Why was this happening? Paralysis? No cognitive senses? No memory…

"Oh no…"

A dark realization came over Eve. She checks her timer to see how long Wally has been clinically dead for. If more than 15 minutes of passed, then that would mean he's…

…her clock read 17 minutes have passed. At this point, without oxygen flow to Wally's brain for that amount of time…

"No!...NO!...NOO!" Eve cries out in disbelief, but unable to quell the dreadfulness brewing up in her as the realization sank in.

_HE CAN'T BE!_

She rushes over to his twitching body at the bottom of the ramp, turning him over and propping him up to face her. The look in his eyes shocked Eve so much she refused to believe her sight.

There was nothing in his eyes; the total absence of his innocent being in those large spheres was relevant in his now fully dilated pupils. He no longer had the most caring and loving hazel eyes that longed for Eve and that she longed to see into.

The pupils of his eyes were darker than the blackness of space itself. They were void. Soulless.

With the realization of something else she forgot to do while bringing him back, Eve hesitantly pulls out her holopad to run a neuro-scan on Wally's brain; she couldn't believe this was happening, this is a nightmare. But deep down she knows it's too true to deny.

The neuro-scan pings completed and Eve reads what's wrong with his mind.

All of the hope Eve clang onto, her last drop of happiness, the faint light at the end of the tunnel for saving the one she loved...was shattered as she read it; her worst fears now confirmed a reality.

There was blood flow to Wally's brain, but his nero-cortex showed no signs of cognitive bioelectric activity, all the membrane cells in his nervous system have already died from necrosis; a lack of oxygenated blood for, irreparably, too long.

Wally was clinically brain-dead.

"NOO! WALLY!" Eve broke down in tears as she shook his body, slapping his face as if to wake whatever was left of the man she loved from a mindless sleep he will never wake up from.

"WALLY!...DON'T LEAVE ME!..." She sobbed through her desperate pleas for him to come back to her. She held his face as tight and as loving as she can, screaming for him.

"...WALLY!**WAAAAALLLLLYYY!"**

No force on Earth or Heaven was listening to her begging for his life.

It was too late. Wally's memory, his mind, his consciousness; in essence, his very soul; was gone. Just gone.

Wallace Burtt was no more.

* * *

She lost him forever in oblivion. Eve starred into the empty eyes of the soulless body that was once Wally. She looked at him in silence for what felt like forever, her heart pounded in dread as what happened sank in, a life had simply ended right in front of her.

Finally, she broke down, all the emotions that built up inside her heart flowed out of her in soft sobs. Though she was mostly silent, Eve cried like she never had in her entire life.

She let out all of her tears of immeasurable pain, and immeasurable love.

Her tears flowed freely like a waterfall until her eyes reddened and stung, unable to tear anymore from crying too much; her sobbing faded into painful, choked whimpers like she couldn't breathe.

All was quiet again; the only sound breaking the silence of loss was the soft howl of the wind, and the steady breathing of the late-Wally's vegetative body.

Even though she got Wally's body functioning again, it is not him anymore; its just his former exterior shell, but with no life-force left in him. His brain damage was irreversible, his consciousness ceased, not too different from clinical death.

Eve's mind ceased to register everything around her for her whole universe shattered into nothingness. She couldn't save him, the man she loved more than life itself no longer existed.

There's nothing left here anymore, but Eve couldn't just leave. There was nothing to go back to. The life she knew has been altered forever because of him, because he had put so much importance on her and everything she worked for.

Its ironic on how much her thoughts of this lonely, humble man had changed so dramatically. When she first met him, she pointed a plasma rifle to his face, all because he wanted to take in the first human being he had laid eyes on in untold years of isolation. And she tried to ignore him for being such a child-like innocent nuisance, hoping he would just go away. She even tried to blame him for her problems. _And_ she tried to kill him herself for the problems he never caused to her. He still kept following her with those longing eyes like a lost puppy through everything she put him through.

What she wouldn't give to have him come back to her right at that moment.

Even through her mistreatment of him, he had done incredible things for her. He brought the plant to her, he had protected her, he had showed her unthinkable treasures and taught her things that no one else could comprehend; the secrets of life long forgotten by humanity: emotions, understanding, moments, dreams, and affection. He had brought humanity back to its home world because of the sequence of events created by everything he had done for her out of the humble goodness of his golden heart.

And he gave his life for it, for her. Because he loved her.

Eve's pain endlessly swelled in her broken heart, she wanted to cry so hard, but she had no more tears or strenght left to do so; she was suffering an unimaginable loss, it hurt her more than dying. There was nothing left she could to do.

But...

There is one thing she can…want to...need to... must do. The last thing that she could do for Wally's memory, to give him something for everything he had done for her. The one thing he always wanted, something he traveled through hell, space, life and death for.

Slowly, she pries open his lifeless hand with her own, intertwining her slender, silky fingers with his calloused, scarred fingers.

Eve brought her other arm around his vegetative body and held him close in utter silence, closing her eyes and touching his forehead with hers; her angelic white hair enveloped his blank yet peaceful looking expression. She then, out of somewhere from the deepest parts of her, quietly and tenderly hummed the sweet tune of his favorite song,_ It Only Takes A Moment_. One that taught him the thing he always dreamed of charishing.

She held his hand, the one thing that Wally deeply wanted; to love her and be loved.

It hurt her that he never lived long enough to actually savor the thing he survived, suffered, and died for; to see his wish come true. Where all his pain would end with this magical moment of intimacy with her, letting him know that he is no longer alone in the universe, and that it did only take a moment to be loved a whole life long.

As Eve rhythmically hums the last notes of the song she cups his cheek with a delicate hand, and plants a soft kiss on his now cold and rigid lips, finishing his song.

She kept her eyes closed; her voice choked with sadness, and Eve let out three little words that were quieter than the softest whisper humanly possible.

The words she let out were for Wally's last words he had said to her before they returned to Earth. And she was saying the same words to what ever was left of his spirit in his body, and wherever afterlife his consciousness went; the three little words that Wally had waited an ended lifetime to hear.

"I…I l-love you."

It made her tears return, out of the pain of pure love…

…A minute goes by as slow as a few hours, just holding him. Remembering him...

Her grieving had subsidded, but it left her a reluctance to leave his body, let alone move or think clearly of anything else.

Not entirely forgotten, Eve figured that sooner or later the people of the _Axiom_ will come looking for her, and him.

She no longer cared about them anymore, nothing important was left for Eve; her directive was completed, Earth was habitable again and humanity has returned home, but… now what?

Eve felt a void growing in her heart out of the feeling of being useless without a direction in this new world, she felt so lost without the one she loved; and the irrelevance of the people that she brought to Earth didn't seem like they posed any significance to her. For the first time in her life, she felt totally and utterly, alone and without purpose.

She wonders if there we're any reason for her to go on without him now.

Maybe she could follow him into oblivion as he onced follwed her wherever she went, to join him and be with him forever. She had potassium cyanide capsules...she could use them to euthanasize him, and one for herself...or she could use her plasma rifle, self-inflicted shot-

_NO!_

She can't do it, she can't even_ think_ about it.

She would condemn herself if she ever thought of suicide to just be with him. She had to live, it's what Wally would've wanted.

Eve hesitantly tries to get up from her embrace of him, a first step to a very painful goodbye. She will never forget him as long as she lived; and neither will the rest of the _Axiom._ No one could've possibly amount the courage Wally had to sacrifice everything he pursuded and his life for humanity, and everyone who now resides on Earth and their future generations owed him everything; they will all remember him.

She sets that to be her thought from now on. She couldn't bring herself to think of another dark thought that entered her mind about what to do with his body since he had no consciousness left. She had to go, but she will come back for his body, for everyone will want to know everything.

She pulls away to painfully leave...

…but her hand is still clutching onto Wally's hand.

She gets slightly jerked back, snapping her out of her depressive thoughts. She tries to shake her hand loose. But her fingers were still stuck in Wally's; no matter how hard she tried.

Eve quickly looked back into Wally's eyes. Maybe he'll be him again. Somehow.

Wally's eyes were still empty. Eve's hopeful expression drained out of her eyes, defeated by desperate dillusions to see him again; she couldn't let go of him that easily, that's why. Her gaze lowers to his hand still interlocked with his; somehow they felt tighter as if she were clutching him tighter…

His fingers twitched, slightly inward around her hand.

Eve's thoughts and emotions came to a grinding stop in shock, she wasn't holding him back, _he_ was holding her back!

Wally's fingers twitched again, and they slowly and gently clasped Eve's hand, a perfect fit.

Eve's heart skips entire beats, looking back into his eyes.

Then, Wally blinks, the blackness in his eyes shrunk into hazel irises contracted in his eyes. A familiar, warm presence filled the void of his eyes.

It was the eyes full of pure life, the eyes of Wally. Could it be?…

"W…Wally?"

...

Wallace groaned; he felt a lightheaded tingle from a sensation of something regrowing inside his mind; his whole body felt the same numbness of insides that felt unfamiliar, but there were functioning and it didn't even hurt. That confused him, for he knew he had been in terrible pain before he ended up hre.

His vision painfully tries to come into focus, sensitive from emerging from total nothingness into the bright light of day. He didn't have his glasses on, and his near-sightedness made out a glowing white silhouette of a human being. He felt warmth radiating off of this blurry beautiful figure, and wrapped around him like a blanket; a very familiar, loving presence was holding him. There was something about that presence, like he knew it as an angelic being, a woman.

He sees crystaline blue orbs that twinkled brighter than the stars of the night sky; he was looking straight into her wide-eyed, stricken expression of disbelief, and some very evident sadness. Suddenly, he knew those eyes.

It was the eyes of an angel that was holding him close.

_His_ angel.

"E…vah?"

...

Eve's heart almost stops when she heard him say her name.

She was too shocked and astonished to move. The impossible just happened. Is this a hallucination? A dream? Was her mind so clouded by dread it was desperate to make her feel better?

She looks deep into his large eyes, the innocent consciousness she knew as Wally had flooded back into his body as he moved his limp extremeties and slowly sat up.

She couldn't believe it for even a second. But…here he was.

He was alive, well, and…remembering.

_He remembers!_

Wally, his consciousness, has come back to her.

She didn't know or care how, but her silent prayers have been answered. He was hers again.

**"WALLY!"**

Unable to contain all of her erupting emotions, she embraces Wally with all her strength, new tears fell from her moistened eyes and she never smiled so much in her life.

She was no longer crying in pain, but crying in pure joy, so much of it.

Wally felt all of his bizarre sensations and confusion disappear instantly, for the love of his life held him for dear life. It felt so good, it felt so loving, and he returns her embrace; if this was Heaven or if he really wasn't dead, he will drown in the warmth of the moment forever.

"I thought I lost you." She said between her joyous whimpers.

Wally had no idea of his immediate surroundings, and what happened to him after falling into the Holo-detector, after the struggle for returning to Earth…dying on the Lido Deck…His last words to Eve…It felt like as if it happened a lifetime ago, yet after seeing his immediate surroundings, it was barely a few minutes…He was sure he had passed on into a realm that was impossible to articulate.

But he felt something that drew him away from it, and made it all feel instantaneous.

He felt glimmering warmth in his hand, something that reminded him of her. He also felt a soft peck on his lips, it reminded him of all the things he never experienced in his life; joy, nurture, belonging, love...it reminded him of Heaven. And he heard an echo throughout his being trapped in the darkness, hearing the three words he awaited for.

" _I...I l-love you."_

And then…it felt like something stirred inside his head. Like his brain was being fixed or regenerated on its own.

(unbeknowest to either Wally or Eve, the stem cells injected into his blood by Eve flowed in his blood lines to his brain and restored all of his neuromembranes to the way they were.)

He didn't care how it happened, all he knew was that she was here right with him. She was covered in stains of his own blood and choking in so many tears of love, pain, and happiness. She must've been through so much just to get him back; he will be eternally grateful of her, not to mention eternally loving.

Wally looked at Eve; she was so close to him he could see her fairly clear through his short-sightedness, their faces almost touch one another and they held each other like there was no tomorrow. Eve looked more beautiful than he could ever imagine without his glasses, the blurriness of his vision made the tears of her face glow with the radiance of her joy. She looked so happy and tearful at the same time, so happy to see him alive, so in love.

"Wally…" Eve's honeyed tone grew with her wide smile and held up his hand, still intertwined with his.

Wally gasps, his pacemaker nearly fluctuates and he nearly jumps in pure joy.

"Evah!"

He was holding her hand!

"Uh-u-Oh-I-uh-you-" He stuttered to find the words for this moment he had been awaiting for so long for. Eve giggled at his speech impediment more than at his gob smacked reaction, he willingly faced death to save a starship and he was still shy for comprehending holding a woman's hand. He definitely came back as the timid, humble garbage collecting weirdo she loved him so much for; only now he was a heroic, timid garbage collector. _Her_ heroic, timid garbage collector.

Wally's stuttering stops, his eyes taking in the image of his hand interlocked with hers. This was the one and only thing in his lifetime he ever wanted so badly, so much that this simple act of the moment was devoted to a lifetime's worth of hell he had suffered. This tender touching of the woman of his life, was worth it all.

His eyes look up to Eve's, his vision sank into the moist, tranquil blue eyes of Eve that shined all the love in the known universe. It looked like he was staring into Heaven itself.

Finally, he speaks without a single impediment, his words directly from his heart.

"I-Is this what Heaven is like?"

Wally's voice was barely above a whisper, but it made Eve's eyes overflow. The magic of this moment was almost too much for her; yet, it was among the most beautiful words Wally has ever spoken to her deep from his core. He had spoken so many wonderful things to her before, conscious or not, but if she could melt when he said that, she'd be a warm puddle on the ground at the moment.

She brings her other hand up to his cheek, starring back into the hazel eyes so full of love and awe. Without his glasses, his eyes looked far more intense, not to mention far more attractive and beautiful to her now. No more pain was present in him anymore; his question was so touching that she had to answer.

"No…" She held their intertwined hands to her heart. "…_this_, is real."

Wally's heart melted, and tightened his gentle grip on her hand. This was too wonderful to be true. He couldn't differ if he really was dead or not, because it felt like as if he was in Heaven. Eve too felt unable to comprehend that this was happening, that the impossiblility of him coming back to life just happened.

But this was real.

...

"WAWWY!" Va-Qum cheers at the top of his lungs, seeing his friend has survived. The rejects jumped up and celebrated as they see Wally awakening.

Moe celebrated as well, even Hal wagged his tail in rejoice, his master has woken up! But Moe knew that by the way Wally and Eve looked was that they needed to be alone. After everything they've been through, theirs no need to think about what's to happen next.

Not wanting to shatter the couple's moment, or risk Eve's wrath, Moe tries to shoe off the rejects. He also didn't want to miss the historic event about to take place just outside the _Axiom_, the Captain was going to plant the seedling!

"Come on, let's go! Go! GOGOGOGOGOGOGO!

Some are just too eager and just try to watch them, But Moe manages to get them away.

...

They are aware that Moe and the rejects are there, but they didn't really give for privacy; they'd let anyone in the world witness this beautiful moment.

Wally sat up and Eve leaned ever closer to each other so slowly, both their eyes closed in pure bliss as their lips touched.

Their first mutual kiss.

Wally felt the mental overloading of Eve's love rushing through his body, but he didn't pass out this time. This time he was conscious to savor every picosecond of the sweet taste of her lips in contact with his own. Both lovers went slow and passionately, drinking in more and more of each other as they deepened the kiss. Wally let his free hand support Eve he runs it slowly up her spine, the sensation was enough to get through Eve's nanosuit, causing her to moan along with him as he felt her free hand massage through his unruly hair down to the back of his neck and savor the warmth of returned life she felt through his lips; they both fell beyond euphoria and into esctasy with such intimate touch they've waited so long for, and felt immeasurably grateful that because he was alive to cherish this moment, and every living moment from then on...

_"And that is all..." _

Somewhere, probably from the truck and from the VCR that Eve left on, they could hear no better song than one intimate enough for this exact time, _It Only Takes A Moment,_ their song.

They didn't just touch Heaven; Eve was right, this _is_ Heaven.

_"...that love's about..."_

Wally and Eve slowly broke from the kiss, touching each others foreheads and slowly breathing deep from the passionate exchange.

They now looked into each others eyes in time suspended by the intimacy; starring into each others souls.

Wally held Eve gingerly by the back of her slender neck and around her seductive waist. She was stained in his blood and filth plus minor injuries of her own but it didn't bother him or her anymore, so he just kept her as close to him as possible to keep the feeling. He was completely amazed that after his journey through so much odds, from surviving nature's fury to flying across the galaxy, this beautiful female of a white haired angel in his arms is now all his to love and care for.

_"...And we'll recall..." _

He whispers as soft as his rough voice could. "I love you, Evah."

He looked deep into the abyss of her blue orbs as he poured his heart to her. He felt his own eyes moisten. "…I love you so much. I always have." He didn't stutter, for he knew now he could say to her the things he always wanted to say.

_"...when time runs out..."_

Eve's eyes once again flowed freely of tears, but the hapiness in her face shined brighter than the all the stars of the cosmos, truly moved by the words from his heart.

She held him by the back of his neck and the cup of his jaw. Truly amazed for the loyal and beautiful soul she was holding. This man from the long lost Earth who had devotively protected her against unimaginable odds, shared with her the forgotten secrets of life, and ventured across deep space to hold her hand, was now all hers to love and care for.

_"...That it only..." _

Affectionately and playfully she tickled the peak of his nose with the tip of her own, drawing a light giggle from both of them.

"I love you too, Wally." She breathlessly whispers to him as she planted a long kiss on his lips, and she embraced him around his neck.

Wally rested his head on her shoulder, burying his face into her cascading white hair; he carassed her tightly, letting the heat radiating off her skin to his to keep him warm. Eve's whole body pressed up against him, wrapping around him like a blanket to protect him.

Eve murmured his name in the tenderest way possible as she cuddled up with him, Wally and Eve felt so safe in each others arms, never felt more safe, more cozy, comfortable, or belonging in the duration of their existances.

She whispers into his ear. "…I love you so much. And I always will."

_"...took a moment..."_

Hearing her, tears freely rolled down Wally's cheek as he rested his weary face against her white hair and silky skin. He shredded sweet tears, this was the happiest moment in his entire life. Not only because it was the very first time he has ever heard those three words spoken to him, and truly mean it to the core; but because those words came from the heart of Eve herself.

At last after three decades of suffering and surviving a past of hell, and journeying through the impossible to hear those three little words from someone who now sees him a significant other, a human being that needs him more than air to live a happy life together. Living proof of true love in his arms, it was a moment that will last forever in his memory; even if the world ended right then and there, he would die a _very_ happy man.

Eve, his angel embracing him, his angel that came down from the stars like he prayed for on that one lonely starlit night not so long ago; looking up into the heavens for the answer to his lonely life and the wonders of what beauty and belonging really was.

_"...to be loved..."_

His dream had finally come true.

Wallace Burtt will never feel alone ever again.

_"...a whole life long."_

* * *

**AnNND...That's TECHNICALLY THE END FOLKS!**

**HORAY! Happiy Ever After for Wally! But thats not the very end of such a sweet note.**

**Stay tuned for some additional final installations:**

**_CHAPTER 32-34: THE EPILOGUE!_**

**I hope everyone has enjoyed this as much as the movie, i know i did.**

**Please feel free to Read & Review, and I thank you for all your kind reviews and support me to finish this for you! I swore on my life i would finish this and i will! ****And i'm going to add a very sweet ending to this. I just have to draft up the only part i actually have to make up for a fanfic. So i hope its okay if it takes me a few days to a week or so to make it. Any ideas submitted for me to add would be most appreciated as well.**

**A/N - This may seem strange but...For those who like to listen to music while they read, try some of the soft tunes of Era (Angel, I believe, etc.) or Halo 3's soundtrack ending (Wake Me When You Need Me) or any kind of ballad you like while reading Wally's resurrection and their professing for each other. It really adds to the drama like a cinematic experience. Just an idea so fell free:)**

******Anyways, thank you and i hope you loved it. But Remember: Epilogue soon enough!**


	32. Epilogue, Part I: And Together Forever

**Alas! IT'S FINALLY HERE! Even Better: THERE'S MOOREE!**

**It took me a while to draft up what i had planned. And after some writing and editing, i realized it took me too long to just finalize one part of the epilogue and to do the whole thing would put me over my usual update-once-a-week writting routine. So...i split the epilogue into a two parter, possibly even three if the next draft isn't too long to keep in the same fanfic. They are essentially short stories of Wally's new life with Eve and no longer alone on Earth with the return of humanity. A drabble homage to the after-story rolling with the credits of the film.**

**Anyways, i hope you will enjoy my very first, legitimate fanfic work for this was NOT in the movie, another reason it took me over a week. I had used several other Wall-E fanfic works for reference ang guidelines so i will have them remarked at the end. For without them, it'd take me a _long_ time to get just one part done. **

**I do...not own the film.**

**_AND SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE IS..._**

* * *

THE EPILOGUE, PART I: TOGETHER FOREVER

"…_to be loved...a whole life long."_

Wally stirred, his eyes struggled to open, his vision trying to focus after emerging from total darkness into light.

A sense of déjà vu ran through his head, as he felt the exact same sensations and saw the white silhouette of a woman...

...with the exception of feeling nice and cozy in some comfortable bed.

The morning rays of the sun flooded the dark bedroom he was in, shining through the polarized slits of the translucent ceiling. From the brightness and relative angle of the sunlight it must be mid-morning, and he was just emerging from deep sleep.

He didn't wake at the first crack of dawn anymore, now he was no longer involuntary bound to his life-long laborious duties as a garbage collector, he slept for long undisturbed hours that his body never got to rest for in a lifetime of perpetual labor; and now that his life had changed forever, he enjoyed every last drop of his long deserved rest. Not because he was sleeping in an _very_ comfortable memory fabric mattress and warm cotton sheets instead of a tattered hammock in a sub-freezing truck, nor that he could do so at anytime in the night.

No, he slept so well because of whom slept next to him.

His sense of touch registered soft feminine skin laying against his. Wally saw through the blur of his vision buried in the soft fluffy pillows, the white haired maiden that gave him so much warmth that he slept without disturbance, without nightmares, and without a single trace of anything except pure content in the air ever since she saved him so long ago, the woman who banished all traces of his loneliness from his old life.

Lying next to him was his beautiful and beloved angel, none other than his wife, Eve.

She lay sound asleep and embracing Wally; her face a few mere centimeters from his and her lips bore a dreamy smile. He could feel her soft breath on his skin as well as one of her slender hands clutching his heavily scarred and calloused chest and the other one around his neck, pressing her soft body against him under a thick cream-colored blanket that covered them up to Eve's mid-section as well as Wally's. She wore a knee-lenght silk nightgown that matched her white hair, straight as it usually was but it was a messy bun of sorts; the morning light she reflected off her smooth skin added to her exquisiteness.

Wally smiled lovingly, for he had a dream of the exact image, sensations, and time of when she brought him back to life, kissed him and held him as she did now, only now she looks a multitude times more peaceful in her slumber. She was a real sleeping angel whose unmatched beauty hadn't aged a day since he first laid eyes on her so many years ago.

Wally felt like drifting back to sleep again as he gazes wonderfully over Eve's form; treasuring every sensory sight and touch of her smooth skin against his. Seizing the moment of bliss, Wally tries carefully not to wake her as he pulls the warm blanket up their shoulders and wraps his organic and prosthetic arm around her small, bare back to feel the steadiness of her breathing as he holds her close softly but firm.

Eve didn't stir, but Wally feels one of her long athletic legs wrap around his under the covers, her grip around his torso tightens and she snuggles into the crook of Wally's neck which buries his nose in her silky hair; she smelled fresh and healthily rested, a natural scent that drove him insane for more of her. The sweet dreaming smile on her face grew wider and the faintest of happy sighs subconsciously escaped fom her; even when asleep, she could feel how comfortable she had just gotten within the embrace of her lover.

The tranquility of the moment, the intimate cuddling touch, and the sleeping beauty of Eve effortlessly sends Wally back into dozing off, as it always does to him; and he dreams of more precious memories of how his new life had gotten him to be sleeping with her next to him…

* * *

(Flashback, 7 Years Earlier...) **_BnLS _Axiom_ Landing Platform, 1842 Hours, July 16th, 0 A.X. (2805 A.D.) - 18 Days After Axiom return - _**

_Wally stood anxiously at the bottom of the central staircase of the _BnLS Axiom's_ boarding terminal; the metal canopy was completely adorned in rosy decorations and at the center stood an equally adorned podium. _

_He wore a fine black suit with a bow-tie and shiny dress shoes, the suit was a tad bit too big but it didn't matter, he's never worn one before and it looked handsomely good on him regardless. His skin was also spotlessly clean, even his prosthetic arm and refurbished glasses were polished and waxed down to a glimmering shine. His hair, unruly as it was, was combed as best as it possibly could but left uncut to not change the characteristic look of the wild-raised child he was._

_It's an impossible sight to see on a feral raised garbage collector; there was not a speck of dirt on him that it made him almost completely unrecognizable. Only his sun-bleached skin color, his permanent callouses and scars were still visible on his face and flesh hand; but there were lots of them, there were even some scars atop of scars that at least made him somewhat recognizable. _

_It was no easy feat to make his new refreshed appearance as it was today, starting way back when he had spent days in the _Axiom's_ medical center with Eve to recover from their injuries, and to attend to the myriad of medical treatments he needed from the health analysis from the Ward, to become a perfectly healthy human._

_When he learned of what happened to him after he was crushed, the ordeal to bring the _Axiom_ back, and of how Eve resurrected him, he couldn't believe he was alive, Wally couldn't be any more grateful to be breathing again because of his lover. Nor could the Captain express how humbled and honored he was for Wally giving his life for everyone, and if there was anything he could offer them in return. _

_Wally couldn't think of wanting anything more than just being with Eve, after everything they had been through, they were too crazy for each other to be separated. They wanted to be with each other, even if it was to just hold each other, look into one another's eyes and kiss nonstop, all they could ever want was to to stay together. _

_Then, Wally had an idea that would take up the Captain's offer, and would have him and Eve stay together, forever. _

_He has learned of a customary in the movie 'Hello Dolly' that does such an eternal bond between lovers. A sacred ceremony where the man and woman are asked if they will spend the rest of their lives with one another, care and love each other no matter what. Then they will kiss in front of a lot of people and live happily ever after, and dance eat too much of a food called cake. _

_It was a ceremony what people called a 'wedding.' _

_The moment he told McCrea and Eve of that idea, he was worried he said something wrong; because Eve went stiff in shock for what seemed like several minutes._

_After a tense few moments frozen on the spot by Wally's proposal, she answered; by kissing him senseless and holding him as tight as she could, screaming his name and 'YES!' over and over again in joy at the top of her lungs while spinning on her antigrav boots. He didn't know if he should feel joyous or dizzy afterwords, but he knew it was going to be the greatest thing that can ever happen to him, staying with his beloved Eve for the rest of his life._

_McCrea jumped up in joy after Eve accepted, and he offered what he said to be an honor to marry them and will get straight to the biggest preparations the people of the _Axiom_ have ever done. True to his word, the news spread and the people of the _Axiom_ enthusiastically had the couple get prepared and cleaned up for the big day, and alot faster too, so the couple had to do extensive grooming first and fast to look their best. _

_Especially Wally, who literally had to spend all day in a hygiene center with Moe and Pertie, removing every microbe of thirty years worth of crusty dirt, grime, filth, and god-knew-what-else off his skin, and had him bathed. _

_The cleansing of his fifth-ridden body took almost forever and stung his skin something fierce, Moe's thoroughness on sterilization had Wally scrubbed so hard that his skin was beat red when Moe was done. Wally screamed like a little child in the unfamiliar sting of soap that Eve went into a giggling fit behind the curtain of the bathing chamber, listening to his pleas for the bathing to stop. ____It hurt to touch him afterwards but he didn't mind. _

_He was then fitted with the black tuxedo that the crew of the ship had to do a pain staking search to find it, since the people never used that particular size in centuries; and he was even sprayed with colugne, one fitting for Eve's favorite seasonal smells. When he emerged from the steaming hygiene chamber and looked into a mirror, Wally was left dumbstruck by the alien sight of a garbage man like himself looking so incredibly groomed._

_He was fully suited in the tux with polished black shoes, spotless button up white shirt, bow-tie, and clad in a long dress coat. Clean shaven and sprayed down, his colunge smelled fresh with a inviting summer-air aroma, the scent could hypnotize any woman within 500 meters of him, but that should only count for Eve he reminded himself; his dark brown hair combed straight down back to its full length, the curls trimmed away to frame his kind face, even his corrective glasses were fully refurbished and polished clear to show the fullness of his large child-like eyes. Wally looked so cleaned up he had slightly lighter skin, his sun-bleached color and dirt layer was treated and shined a brilliant tan. But also showed **all** of his scars through the brushed away filth, almost twice as many and deeper ones that those that showed on his body when he looked unbathed. There were so many on his face and hands that could be seen, and countless more underneath his attire, many wondered if he was a torture victim._

_Not many females considered scars attractive on a guy. But of a innocent-minded gentleman of his lean stature yet a self-made physical worker who survived every wrath of nature, earthy or human, nobly puts everyone's needs before himself, and saved the human race from a sloth existence, it made him look more manly than anything else for anyone his age. _

_Eve was just breath taken and mesmerized by the sight of him; so half-crazy over how handsome he looked that Wally couldn't keep her more than two feet from him, wanting to be held by him, to smell and feel how fresh he looked._

_Eve went to get her dress as well, when Wally asked for what it was, Eve said he won't get to see her in it until the wedding, just saying in a honeyed voice, "…it's a special surprise". Wally agreed, smiling to himself in excitement to only see what she'll look like at the moment they wed, to see the full beauty of the woman who will spend his remaining days with._

_After two weeks of other quick preparations and rehearsals for the customs that have been long forgotten, everyone helped to get it right as it was done by their ancestors. _

_Today, the entire population of the _Axiom_ has gathered outside of the dock, amassing in the dried Hudson Bay to the bottom of the red carpeted main boarding staircase, the bride's alley leading from inside the ship to the bottom of the boarding stairwell where the podium is set up. _

_1.55 million people, all here to witness this event, the first marriage ever to take place on Earth for the first time in 700 years. _

_It was sundown, luckily right after a barrage of returning rain left a fabulous display of such orange/red rays through the clouds in the time of the wedding plus without any worry of further storms; a perfect backdrop for what Wally thought as he remembered it as the exact same sunset he had shown Eve while she was frozen. And now she was going to see it with him, on the most important evening of their lives. _

_Captain McCrea stepped out of the _Axiom_ wearing his finely pressed captain's uniform; it was still too small but he wore a celebrant's cloak to go with it. Followed by the Captain were Moe, Va-Qum, Vingo, Pertie, Brella, Defib, Burnie, the typist, the messager, and the E.V.R.E. team all dressed in their appropriate attire for groomsmen and bride maids; even Hal sat in his spot near the altar with the groomsmen and his master. _

_The chatter of the million plus witnesses immediately died down as the ceremony was about to begin. __McCrea noticed that Wally was fidgeting with his crocked bow-tie, nervous with all eyes trained on him and simultaneously excited about what's to happen. _

_The Captain leaned over the podium and whispered to him. _

"_Don't be anxious, Wally; you'll do great. Just do what you've been doing and keep that girl happy."_

_Wally smiled back at the Captain, he is genuinely happy for what's to come, so much so it was making him so shaky. _

___"I will." He warmly replied to the Captain, the notion of keeping Eve happy was all he could think of, so having the Captain remind him of what he always wanted to do for his beloved eased his unsettlement. __And he was glad the captain offered to do the marrying, for no one else knew how to unite two familiar people better than him._

_McCrea tapped the hypersensitive microphone to the podium, mega-sized holoscreens with his face and Wally's materialized everywhere for all of the expansive crowd to see. He speaks into the microphone, his voice echoes through the _Axiom's_ external speakers as he eagerly gets right to the ceremony._

"_Ladies and gentlemen…" he began. _

"_Today, I, Captain Benjamin Herald McCrea, am honored to welcome each and every one of you…not only to our official and formal celebration of our homecoming to Earth; but to the happiest…and largest wedding of all time!" _

_The audience cheered, making Wally all the more restless with excitement and anxiety._

"_And with that said..."_

_On cue, the _Axiom's_ external mega-speakers activate the musical system, Wally and McCrea pivoted around and up the stairwell to see the doors hiss open, everyone rose in expectant excitement to the opening notes of 'The Bridal Chorus'._

_Then, emerging from the entrance of the great starliner_ _right when the overture began_,_ first led out by the eldest toddlers as flower girls, and escorted by the best man Jon and the maid of honor Mary, was the beauty everyone awaited to see in all her glory. _

_Wally prepared himself for this long awaited moment…_

_McCrea smiled when he finishes his line for his most distinguished former vegetation scout, gorgeously dressed and coming into view._

"…_here comes the Bride." _

_Wally, McCrea, and all 1.55 million people suddenly gasped in awe as they saw Eve herself walk out of the _Axiom's_ entrance in such unimaginable beauty, it was a mesmerizing sight that no one could ever forget. Eve didn't even need a spot light to shine so bright, literally. _

_She wore a specialized long white wedding gown; the one that definitely fit her angelic self and left Wally speechless in surprise as she promised. _

_It was a simple yet futuristically functioning design; a perfect fit to her slender curvatures and it was made of a luminescent nano-fabric that actually emitted an aurora of white light, like a faint halo outlining her sacred and slim body. Glowing like a goddess incarnate. _

_She wore arm-length silk evening gloves and her white hair flowed flawlessly over her strapless exposed shoulders and straight down her back lined with her favorite flowers, the__ Rosa bracteates, aka white roses__. In her hands, she held the famous boot with the ailanthus plant itself, dug up out of the historic burial site specifically for this event as the honorary bouquet. _

_The air around her smelled of roses, her favorite flowers; her perfume and delicate face radiated so much happiness that it could be seen through her veil, her wide smile and blue eyes were fixed on her groom who stood awe/love struck at the canopy of the ship's boarding terminal turned altar. No words or pictures he knew could do justice for how she looked in that dress._

_He only knows that Eve was shining like a real angel from Heaven sent to Earth. "Oooo…" Wally cooed, starring slack-jawed as her eyes locked onto him with her warm smile that could melt ice. She was so stunning he couldn't say anything when she makes her way down the stairs in fluid, graceful motion even with her heels on. As Eve stood by his side, still smiling so brightly at him, Wally couldn't believe this was the woman he was marrying, not too long ago this would've seemed impossible to happen to him. _

_In fact, they were standing not too far from the dried-up Hudson river valley where the recon ship landed and he first saw her a mere five to six weeks ago, where she tried to blast him on the spot as if he were some threatening creature, and he followed her like a lost puppy, longing to just hold her hand even if it were for just an instant at the cost of life or limb. Now they were here at the alter together near where it all started, and he was about to take her hand forever and will never have to worry of any harm from her. __Funny, who knew this would come..._

"_Wally?" Jon tapped his shoulder, snapping Wally out of his dazzled inertia. He realized Jon was handing her off to him._

"_OH!" Wally stuttered nervously and gingerly takes Eve's right hand into his left. Everyone chuckles at him gazing at Eve with those love-filled eyes of his; they had never seen an about-to-be-husband so crazy over his about-to-be-wife. _

_Eve giggled when he turns red in embarrassment, realizing he had been caught daydreaming over her. She gives him a reassuring squeeze of his hand and smiled even brighter, allowing Wally to know that he didn't have to be nervous over appearing so in love in front of everyone. _

_Even better, he had a very sweet look on his face; and Eve got to see how he looked at her when she didn't usually notice, seeing how much she meant to him in his eyes. She couldn't be any more fortunate to have the most lovable and loving man as her husband._

_Wally regains his composure, thinking the exact same thing as Eve, for they are here to bring their love out to the world. _

_He turns to Jon standing at his side. "Thank you, Jon."_

_Jon smiled in return and took his side by the groomsmen and Mary by the bride maids; they looked over at each other, thinking if they were going to do this too, someday._

_Wally takes another reassured loving look at Eve, she smiles excitingly as they both turned to McCrea who flipped open the Captain's Bible, reciting the maritime traditions of conducting a marriage._

_He clears his throat to say the rites of Common Prayer mixed with his own words for the honorary couple._

"_Dearly beloved…" He spoke fluently over the microphone. _

"…_we are gathered here today… to officially celebrate our civilization's return to our home planet…and there is no better way to do so…with the holy matrimony of Wallace Burtt and Evelyn Knight…the two heroes that have brought our lost ship, our lost kind, back home."_

_The first round of everyone's cheers rings on for a minute. Once they silenced, McCrea continued._

"_They have seen through an odyssey that no other human beings could possibly imagine; a journey of survival and belonging against all impossibilities. __And through that journey, they have created something beautiful, something that I have never seen between two people; to be so devoted to just be with each other no matter how far apart the fates had separated them since they first came to existence. So in love that they virtually traveled across the vastness of space to just hold each other's hand." McCrea slowly speaks between lines, letting the words echo across the minds and hearts of everyone present._

_"And through their journey for each other, they had sought the remarkable courage to bring us home, even after Wally's very life was at stake, and __to whom without, we would not be where we are now. Wally and Eve _had risked everything they held dear to them, including their very lives; and yet, not even death itself could stop them from surpassing the impossible challenges of bringing us out of our meaningless wasting of life and back to our homeworld, nor could it divide them from being finally together now and forevermore." 

_Everyone applauded again but louder, remembering the events during and after the battle of the holo-detector;__ of what Wally and Eve went through emotionally and physically, and how far she went to bring him back from certain doom._

"_Today, we are here, to give Wally and Eve something in return for everything they have done for us. Today, we celebrate our civilization's return, by thanking and honoring these two heroes of our species for such a deed that mankind will forever be in their debt to. For there are no intertwined souls in the entire known universe, who at the very least deserve to be happily united for all time more than these two, right here."_

_The audience applauded wildly, Wally and Eve felt so humbled to feel everyone giving praise to them for saving the human race from a meaningless existence in excessively granted comfort. _

_The Captain resumes after silencing the applause again. _

"_I was even made aware that they have written their own vows for each other. So…Wally, would you please?" McCrea turns to him, cue to face Eve and take her other hand into his prosthetic other one. _

_All the holoscreens now lock onto him facing Eve, the audience and she was looking at him eagerly waiting for what he will spill from his heart._

_He takes a deep breathe, soothing out his nervousness and making it sound as deep down from his soul as possible, other than practicing his own words. __He gains all the confidence he can in his composure, and lets his own words flow freely from stuttering._

"_Evah…when I first saw you, my life had changed forever. I__ was just fighting for every day for mere-survival throughout my whole existence with no hope of a future; but when I saw you at the exact moment you awoke on the day you landed, I suddenly knew my real existence, my real life, has truly began. As your very presence had me try to see you more, I realized I was looking for more of you, and then you became the only thing I could ever think about. You are the most beautiful and most wonderful person that I couldn't even possibly imagine. And I would go from one side of the cosmos to the other just to see your face, to see your smile, to look into the beautiful abyss of your eyes, to enjoy our every kiss, and to enjoy holding your hand…" He brought her hands up to cup them to his pacemaker, making the words flow physically from him to her. _

_Eve was already awash in tears as well as the Captain and the audience. Even Wally himself couldn't contain the tears building up behind his own eyes._

"… _You did more than fill the lonely world I was trapped in, you had saved me from certain death; if without you, I would not be standing here with you right now about to give my life to you. Now, you give me more than a reason to just survive; you gave me a reason to live. From day to day, all with you, to treasure every sight of you, sound of you, scent of you, and touch of your hand; and all because of your very presence, you saved me from my past of being so alone on this planet until the end of my days, you have given me things i never knew existed, showing me there was more than just ugly survival on this Earth, but showing me, just like you, how beautiful life really is. You have have given me a future. A future where i can spend the rest of my life with you, a life where I can never feel alone ever again. And I owe you my revived, beating heart for it. And I will keep breathing air and my heart beating for you; I will keep living for you, and being so full of joy for you every waking hour so i could see you smile. I love you…Eve."_

_Eve nearly yelped holding her hand up to cover her mouth agape of gleeful surprise, he pronounced her name right for the very first time._

_It took him a lot of effort, and he was nervous he might mess up. But he didn't need to, for he said everything Eve will ever need to hear from him. She was everything to him especially that without her, he and humanity wouldn't be here today. Her eyes overflowed and tears found their way down her cheek, she was so touched to the core by his words that she just wanted to wrap herself around him tightly and kiss him to death right then and there._

_As the crowd clapped wholeheartedly awed by Wally's loving speech, McCrea sniffed and managed to wipe away the last of stray tears before he gave Eve's turn to say her heart's thoughts._

"_Eve?"_

_Eve barely heard__ the Captain address her, she wanted to cry in joy so bad with Wally, but she will soon. Right after she tells him everything he needs to hear._

_Regaining her composure, Eve clears her choked up throat and began, looking into Wally's eyes._

"_Wally… after everything that has happened, from the day I __first pointed a gun at you until now, I now know that you have more than changed my life forever. Before, I was living a hollow existence, surviving day after day without meaning or purpose. Then, when we met, you did so much just for my own sake; you helped me…you made me laugh…you protected me…you cared for me. But most of all, what always made me smile… you loved me. And you have always stayed with me and shared so much with me, no matter how unaware I was or what forces of the universe tried to divide us, my own temper included. I don't know what would become of me without you. But I know you would always be by my side, you always have, and I will do the same for you. For you have taught me how to feel alive, to watching the sunset, feeling the warmth of fire, softness of the air, the cool of water, the sound of your voice, the sight of your smile, the sweetness of our every kiss, and the feel of your hand in my own. You have given me the gift to treasure life, you make me feel so happy and so safe that you have given me a place where I feel like I belong, the secret to the very meaning of life itself, of my life. To feel that happiness, to feel life, to live, to grow old, to love...with you. I will always be with you, and I'll venture into the darkest boundaries of the Universe and back for you. Because I will be happy with you for all time …I love you so much, Wallace."_

_The entire__ audience was in tears, some crying out loud through some applauding, and Wally wasn't too far from doing so. Eve's words made him feel so belonging, a feeling he never had felt just like her. Where he knows that he has a place that was meant for him, and it was with her and vise versa._

_The sunset passed into night, the lights of the ship and the valley were outmatched by the moonlight peaking through high clouds and reflected down on the wedding. Wally and Eve starred into each other's tear-ridden eyes, sharing the exact same sense of belonging with each other. Despite the astronomical differences between the two, t__hey were the perfect incarnations of true lovers; a beautiful angel from Heaven, and a humble man of the Earth. They truly were the perfect couple._

_"__Ohh goodness…I can't take this anymore." _McCrea once again tried to dry out his tears, his eyes stung from crying so much. _He picks up where he left off, finally to the part where it really gets romantic._

_"__So touching…and it seems there may be no need to say this, but…given the unparalleled bond you two have made and already have done so much of for each other, and in the process, for us all. I am hereby honored to ask you…" _

_He first turns over to Wally, the moment excitingly drawing closer. _

"…_Do you, Wallace, take Eve to be your wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"_

_The audience built up an expectant uproar of cheers, knowing full well how much Eve means to Wally and what he had gone through to get to where he was standing; his directive, Eve, was about to become his life. __Eve too, felt overwhelmed by the fact of how far she went to save him, for he was her directive, and he was about to become everything to her. So this was going to the moment where their journey for each other's hearts ends, and the remainder of their mortal lives and for all time to treasure each other begins. And he knew he will go to any means to remain with her._

_Wally spoke with all the devotion and love in his voice as if it were natural, as if that he had been awaiting this moment for a very long time; which he had._

"_I do."_

_The audience erupted into applause._

_Eve embraced him for those two small, heartfelt words; she knew how obvious it was that he will forever do as he does so well of, loving her delicate soul to no end; and he already proved he loved her through a week of traveling through space just for her. And she will do the same for him to end, too._

_After minutes pass again, the Captain turns to Eve._

"_And do you, Evelyn, in as so much privilege to ask you… to take Wally as your wedded husband? __To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"_

___Eve peeked over to Wally, he looked too happy at the legitimacy of what felt like a lifelong dream of marrying his beloved. _So she did not hesitate to make his and her dream of being together fulfilled.

"_I do."_

_The air filled up with another really loud cheer from the audiences, and kept going on for a few minutes as Wally and Eve hugged so tightly; but, they had to fight so hard against the urge to kiss just then, they weren't finished yet._

_After all is calm again, McCrea motioned for the ring bearer to come forward. _

"_Moe, would you do the honors?"_

_He hopped up and down as much as his short legs will allow in excitement. "Yes sir!"_

_Moe held a satin pillow atop his scrubber, he still had a habit to carry that thing around ever since he set foot outside the sterile ship. _

_Tied to the pillow in little threads, were their tiny pieces of diamond and platinum that shall seal Wally and Eve's love together: their rings. The same ones from the interesting looking box that Wally had found the day he met Eve, though it to took him awhile with the help of Moe to find the actual rings for this, he found them and had them cleaned without a trace of a microbe._

_Moe hands Wally the diamond embedded ring for Eve and he tenderly slips it onto her slender ring finger. He held Eve's ringed hand tightly and with loving care; being true to what he vowed that he treasured the intimate sensations he felt of Eve's silky gloved hands in his own, now wearing that ring that physically meant their eternal binding. _

_At that thought of eternity, Wally paused; he suddenly felt memory after memory of all the numerous times he came face to face with death far too many times. _

_From his oldest memory of watching his mother die protecting him, then he being hunted for food as a helpless child, being buried alive in sandstorms, and nearly falling off trash towers; to being held at gunpoint by Eve, almost blown to smithereens in an escape pod, tortured and electrocuted by Auto, nearly sucked into space from the garbage airlock, and crushed by the holo-detector… He remembered the entire chain of events, from the majority of his long years full of nothingness, totally alone; to the moment he laid eyes on Eve, until now. _

_It felt so inarticulate for him; having his ugly known perception of reality altered forever by the first sight of beauty and love, then he sought to hold hands with, even if there was no reason to hope for it. _

_And now, after so much pain, from isolation to the many times he was nearly dead or dying, and longing for the brightest thing of life he never knew existed… here he was, a lifetime of suffering, loneliness, longing, and hopelessness proven all wrong and not in vain. He was holding the hand of the love of his life at last, about to marry her; even better that the way he imagined it when he first tried to back when he sheltered her in his truck. _

_He stares back up with eyes of incomprehensible wonder at Eve, who slipped his ring over his callous finger._

_He looked into her blue spheres that looked back at him with so much immeasurable kindness._

"_Wally?" She asked softly, puzzled by his silence._

_Then, he replied, but his tone was quiet, as if to himself and to Eve._

"…_I…I-I've never known all of this...these...beautiful things in my entire life...since I first saw you...I knew how to differ beautiful from ugly. I realize just how much... I've been dreaming for this moment, and after everything that I experienced…I realize how I haven't thought that I would live…" his eyes moisten, "…to be here right now, with you, forever…and …it's really happening…" Wally broke down in tears of total joy like the time he first kissed Eve. "I...I feel...so..."_

_"...happy."_

_She saw his eyes and fully knew then and there, the magic of what he felt of was real; the second time a dream he once considered impossible had come true for him._

_She gets as close to him as possible, holding him tight as he cried softly in her arms. The whole crowd remained quiet and knew what she was going to say to an overwhelmed Wally. _

_"I'm so happy too...that this is all happening for us...and for you." __She whispers to him, cupping his tearful face just like she did when he was dying in the garbage airlock. Only now, to give him the joy without the wounds he had._

_"I could never imagine nor undue what life you lived before me. But now, its all over and behind you. I'm here with you...and because I love you, Wally…and I forever will…"_

_Eve helps Wally wipe away his tears, he brings his hands up to cup hers on his face, and one to her cheek. He whispers through his choked voice with all the sincerity in his kindred soul._

_"Thank you..." _

_Starring into her eyes so full of affection he never experienced in his lifetime, it refilled him with the warm presence of Eve's love, feeling the true sense of his newfound purpose: to be with her; his eyes were still moist but he immediately stood true and continued._

"_I love you so much, Evah…more than you can imagine." Now that he freely let his long forgotten emotions seep up to the surface, he stood somewhat taller and more complete; he was finally at peace with his hellish past, and now his new life was about to begin._

_Moved beyond words, McCrea sought that this should make the perfect moment to officially unite the two as a married couple._

"_And so…" Wally and Eve look back at the Captain with happy jitters; Eve removes her veil in excitement for the moment they have been waiting for._

"…_it's the moment we've all been waiting for, folks." he said in a narrator's voice, making the the audience laugh._

_"And now... It gives me great pleasure, no, it is an honor for me... for all of us... to thank you for everything you two have done so bravely, to finally say…" A slow-building roar of cheers overcomes the suspending excitement._

"…_By the power invested in me as Captain of the Buy N' Large Starship _Axiom, _I hence forth pronounce you: husband and wife!"_

_Faster than the Captain could finish with 'You may kiss the bride', Eve squealed in joy for the moment she and Wally had finally been waiting for. She launched herself into Wally arms for his lips. _

_And, Wally had a surprise for her as well; he caught her in her semi-leap for him, and swung her around to kiss her bridal style. _

_After their lips met, it all became a massive celebration as everyone watching; all 1.55 million witnesses of the audience erupted into screaming cheers. _

_Eve went wide-eyed when she found Wally suspending her in his arms almost bent over backwards completely flat; too taken aback to think of how Wally took her breath away with that unexpected and incredibly romantic move of his, how in Forthwright's name did he learn to do that? _

_But, Eve loses herself in the kiss, she closes her eyes in bliss and passionately embraces Wally around the neck; they moaned together as they deepened their kiss for what felt like a lifetime's worth of love rushing through each other in that one tiny moment._

_As Wally and Eve part from their first kiss as husband and wife, they stared into each other's glassy eyes for a long time, their souls were each other's to love and care for, now and forevermore. _

_"I love you, Wally." _

_"I love you too, Evah."_

_They share another long kiss, the applause rising in intensity as Wallace and Evelyn Knight-Burtt made their way into the crowds to finally celebrate the return with everyone._

_The night became almost deafening, the long dead sector feeling human life again to the upbeat sounds of the reception, with Wally and Eve dancing lively with the people around them to 'Hello Dolly' music. Everyone laughed, danced, sang, and feasted like there was no tomorrow (which was semi-true because it would be the only time they would allow themselves to such luxuries before getting humanity back to serious taking care of themselves). _

_As the celebration progressed, the high clouds parted to reveal the starlit night sky, the clearest it has been since the return. Some people launched pyrotechnical devices into the night sky that thunderously exploded and made lots of breath-taking colors and shapes with the dark backdrop of the stars, used for such large scale celebrations; their ancestors called them 'fireworks' . _

_Wally and Eve felt so humbled and eternally grateful to have all this done for them, they couldn't ask for anything better for such a powerful wedding. _

_As the after-wedding party lingered past midnight, with everyone tired from celebrating truly, they all sat back and relaxed while they watched the newly-weds held each other and danced slowly to the final musical track playing, '_It Only Takes A Moment'_. _

"...and that is all...that love's about..."

"...and we'll recall...when time runs out..."

_Wally and Eve even softly sang to each other, their voices perfectly overlapping the main characters as they sang along, re-enacting their sacred holding of each other's hand, they were like Cornelius and Irene in real life of the 29th century._

"...that it only...took a moment...to be loved...a whole life...looooonng."

_As the final note rang out and everyone applauded wildly at the crescendo, Wally couldn't help but let out the prominent joy to his wife._

"_This Is The Greatest Day Of My Life!" He proclaimed to Eve as they embraced tightly, she giggled and couldn't agree more. But that was about to be proven otherwise by a devious smirk on her face._

"_Hmhmm, nowhere near as great when we get home." She spoke with a honeyed tone._

_Wally looked at her taken aback. What more could they possible ask for after such a beautiful moment?_

"_What happens when we get home?" Wally asks innocently, still holding Eve in his arms. __She then giggled uncontrollably and Wally looked a little confused over her laughter._

_When the honesty in his question actually sank in for not understanding the message she relayed, Eve's laughing ceased and her face turns into blushing shades of pink in embarrasment. After realizing that because of Wally's life being raised uneducated, mostly in isolation and forced laboring, he truly had no idea of all the kinds of intimate physical things that a man and a woman do together if they love each other very, very much. _

_He was still learning the myriad patterns of human social interaction at this point, and even hasn't yet comprehended the concept of 'making love'. __How was she going to convey that to him, and what it would mean for their relationship? _

___Truth was, Eve had been thinking about it ever since Wally's recovery, and after the unbreakable bond they created by their experience onboard the _Axiom___ during their desperate struggle to return to Earth, and to save Wally's life; she had developed a newfound physical attraction of him out of their pure love, and felt that he could one day be the one for her to give her pure untainted body to, the point where their bond would reach it's peak, becoming eternal. _

_____But in the weeks they've been together, Eve hadn't really thought of how to talk about 'the birds and the bees' with Wally while focused on participating in getting the _Axiom_____ colony settled and to care for Wally to get him walking again. And after taking things about him being uneducated into account, Eve knew that the responsibility of that matter of teaching him physical contact with her body would be pretty much on her, she thought she would feel at ease to talk to him about it. But it was easier said than done, for she was just too embarrassed to bring it up, so_ she thought she could wait until they wedded at least. 

___Now that they're husband and wife, that touchy thought was finally here to present itself for her and Wally to actually practice it together as freely as they choose to; and it almost makes her feel weak in the knees. Was she really ready to take their love to the point of becoming permanent? Was she ready to give him her virginity? Was Wally ready to give his untainted self to her as well?_

_And then another thought came to her, after remembering the extent of Wally's injuries and learning about his medical history from the ward, a dark and uncertain question brewed with her mind that threatened to shatter her dreams of her and Wally physically expressing their love in their new lives together: was he even capable of giving himself to her at all?_

_Considering Wally spent his long and lonely years compacting and scavagening garbage in an acidic atmosphere inhaling almost every hazardous chemical known to man, and at the same time suffered a lifetime's worth of bodily and psychological damage done to him, probably unimaginable things that would've labeled Auto's gruesome acts of torture as painless compared to whatever Wally survived on Earth and despite all the advanced medical treatment he was given, not to mention bringing him back from the dead, he wasn't a very healthy guy; and Eve couldn't help but wonder if he was 'functional' below the belt. _

_The thought of finally being able to sleep with him made her anxious, but the thought of being unable to do it with him ever if he wasn't physically capable of it was a mortifying prospect. Eve couldn't fathom how Wally would feel if he found that he was impotent, not being able to pleasure her; worse, it could make him feel that he is unable achieve his most basic desires out of a love life, and that they would become unhappy. _

_But if he was incapable, Eve wouldn't blame him for how the love of her life involuntarily ended up who he was, and she had learned that appearances and physical qualities never came between them. He saved her life and she saved his; and in the process, found each other to be their soulmates. Because she was so grateful of his existence, Eve would never, ever, ever cease to love Wally no matter what he couldn't do for her; for Wally felt the exact same way. He __loved her to no limit and would cherish that bond with her, able bodied or no_.

_That, however, did not take away from the fact that every time he touched her, or every time he kissed her, and said that he loved her more than life itself, she felt the same as well and ached to feel those words manifested in physical actions from him. __She felt that deep within her she had that desire to satisfy this warm feeling inside her to not only know him for all he is, but to connect with him into his very being, and that it could only be done with full contact. _

___Every time they went so far: kisses, caresses, and holding close, it really hurt to let go afterwords. It was disappointing and frustrating to have that burning desire left unsatisfied;__ and having seen Wally's flabbergasted reaction when he saw her nude in the ward, he wanted her just as badly. _

_'You don't really know until you try.' _

_That thought came to her as well, and immediately sent a wave of reassurance and courage throughout Eve, as if her worries had never occurred to her. She couldn't go off with those speculations based on theories, for it could be possible for Wally to please her and her to him as well, they'd just have to see it for themselves; after all if memory serves, that she swore she saw Wally having more than just a dumbstruck reaction when he last saw her bare skinned back in the ward, along with a embarrassing but provocative sight; if there was a lump in his lower coveralls was all the reassurance she needed. Why she didn't remember of that detail before was beyond her, but Eve mentally admonished herself for her doubts for the one she loved and whom loved her back so dearly. _

___They were a married couple, she didn't need to feel forbidden to speak of such delicate topics with her husband, for being married meant to prosper and appreciate each other for each other's defects and wonders. Regardless if Wally was capable or not of the physical things involved in loving someone deeply, their bond that was persistent was all that mattered._

_Besides, after everything they had experienced, after everything they have endured or survived, and shared during their odyssey, they deserved to give into one another to understand each other for all they are. __She didn't need to feel scared of having him as her first and last, for their bond became eternal the moment Wally was brought back to life by her._

_It was time for Wally to learn this thing, to experience with Eve what it is like to physically show how much they truly loved each other. _

_Though she wasn't going to explain __every__ little detail to him in words, not at least until they had the utmost amount of privacy within the safe confines of her estate back aboard the _Axiom,_ which served as their home until Wally's 'home' was refurbished into something better. _

_With all those thoughts banished from her mind, Eve returns to the present with Wally still holding her close and awaiting patiently for an answer. _

_Eve smiled as she looked into Wally's large eyes, the thoughts and feelings of her uncertainty that raced through her head in the last two seconds had faded and were replaced with her newfound confidence, with excitement and provocation for her plans for him later that night. _

_Slowly, she traces her finger down Wally's chest, her intimate touch turning into something more seductive as she purred in his ear._

"_Oh, you'll see." _

_

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_

**Makes a good Valentine's Day fanfic, doesn't it?**

**A/N: Just for a heads up, No I am _NOT_ writting a _es ee ex_ scene for the next chapter for the sake of young readers' minds. Though it would be tempting to write such scene, but i may someday as a separate fanfic, not to mention appropriately rated.**

**And this is the first part of the last installments to this fanfic. It will be a collection of memories that take place after the movie until we get to a present time part. And i referenced norwesterner's _The_ _Commitment: an Alternate Direction'_s chapter 25 as a guide to help me write this chapter for a humanized Wall-E's wedding. **

**So, if norwesterner is reading this, Thank You! Or i would of been totally uncertain of how to put this all together. **

**More epilogue part 2 update's as soon as possible. Don't forget to read and review! -The driving force of all fanfic writers is feedback. If anyone has suggestions, comments, or ideas, please let me know.**

**I hope you enjoyed it and i will see you soon!**


	33. Epilogue, Part II: New Life

**Ah at last, another installation for the epilogue. **

**First and foremost, I apologize it took me awhile. I had fallen ill just after posting the previous chapter. Before i was taken to the doctor's I had so much pain in my head and chest i thought i had broncitus or pneumonia. ****Turns out it was a severe sinus disease. **

**I'm still sick but now i can spare enough energy and pain tolerence to concentrate on what to write. It may take awhile to finish writing while i'm recovering, but I'm still alive and very thankful for that, and i will finish this and the final chapter.**

**I'm very pleased by the fact that everyone seemed to like the first epilogue installation of Wally and Eve's wedding, which was a very sweet moment that all Wall-E fanfic writters and readers would love to see, and i thought it would be even sweeter to add something more that comes with being married to the one you love for this chapter. **

**And to those who pointed out the hint at the very end of the last chapter, and as i have stated before: no, it's not going to be an _es ee ex _scene, for it would be far too inappropriate for the young reader's minds; but this will be something much, much better from it. Still in the same field, only more properly worded to describe the sensations for anyone to understand and not feel offended or bewildered by it. Just so you know, that's why i rated this fic _T_, so, _you were warned_.**

**This chapter contains an OC you might recognize from other Wall-E fanfics in robotic form, but i won't state his/her name for the sake of the surprise and speculation as you read on. I don't know what author originally came up with the character, but if he or she is reading this, thank you for such a good choice of name and i do not own that character.**

**Nor do i own the rights to Wall-E**

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EPILOGUE, PART II: NEW LIFE

(These flashbacks continue from Wally's dreams of old memories from the last chapter.)

**BnLS_ Axiom_ Medical Center, 2330 hours, September 23rd, 0 A.X. (2805 A.D.) 86 days after _Axiom_ return, 68 days after Wally and Eve's wedding…**

_The waiting room's dead silence was __broken only by the ticking and tocking sounds of the holographic chronometer, Wally boringly traced shapes he saw in the colorful patterns of the surrounding furniture he uncomfortably sat in. He fidgeted with his prosthetic arm, his glasses, wedding ring, the empty glass of water by his side, anything he could grab to keep himself busy to pass the time. He was the only person in the room, patiently waiting for Eve to emerge from the doctor's examination room, as he had for almost all day long._

_Wally had been worried for Eve for the past several days, she's been exhibiting unusual behavior lately. She's been having unpredictable episodes of mystrious health problems, ranging from random feelings of nausea to bi-polar mood swings. Her no-nonsense, ill-temperate attitude and her unwavering love for him was normal enough, but her going from one moment so full of saint-like kindness to the next with blind, unreasonable and trigger-happy rage, and an increased appetite that sometimes came back up without cause was way too abnormal for Eve compared to her behavior of the last two months._

_Since they married, Wally and Eve had been living the dream of a love life they never thought possible of a couple, finding so much happiness in each other from spending every and any moment together as much as they could while simultaniously helping out with the recolonization of the sector and constructing their new home. __Whenever they did, they spent all of their non-vital working time and personal time together, day and night from laughing with each other over their quirky habbits or embarrasing experiences, crying and comforting each other over painful memories, marveling the old treasures that was found in the garbage and Wally's collection, dining with each other like the date Wally carried for Eve when she was frozn, singing and dancing to Hello Dolly, watching the sunset together, they even end up doing nothing but just be together in the same place holding each other close. _

_Wally and Eve were inseperable, no matter how busy, bored, healthy or ill they felt. _

_When Eve had her symptoms for the past week, her sicknesses was presumed a stomach flu, and her more than usual angelic treatment of Wally was something he more than loved. But as for her temper...Wally became confused and scared for Eve's safety, and even his own when Eve herself nearly killed him during one of her bi-polar fits. He tried to calm her down, and suggested to take things easy with the strange illness straining her, but already her mood-swing fell from blissful to ferocious within just minutes, and having nausea AND felt unusually hungry, all at the same time; that was what set Eve off. She ended up destroying a portion of their home, blasting holes in the walls, floor, and ceiling with her plasma rifle; Wally merely dodged stray shots until Eve ran out of energy within her rifle and within herself. _

_When she finally calmed down and realized what she had done, she broke down in tears completely lost for that she almost killed her husband; she then knew that there was something defininty wrong with her. Wally decided then and there to have her checked in to seek medical help for her own sake. _

_Despite how much he cared for her and wanted to see the doctor with her, he was still a gentleman and decided to wait outside for her own privacy, which Eve deeply appreciated. Wally reminded himself of the last time he barged into the medical ward, he thought she was being tortured and tried to save her, only to see that she was getting a physical exam...AND 'accidentally' saw her naked. He ended up having his face pummeled into a plastisteel wall by her own two hands. Wally shivered at that memory, and the more daunting thought of that since Eve was already in illness-inflicted emotional turmoil, Forthwright-knows what she will do to him if he dares peep into that room in her current state of mind. He would just have to wait and see._

_Ten and a half hours have passed since she went into the doctor's room, and no news have been given to Wally. Not a single update or note. __He hasn't rested since their arrival but he would wait for as long as it takes to find out what's wrong with his wife's health, yet he couldn't help but feel unsettled for the extensive amount of time passed since Eve went into the doctor's office; whatever was wrong with her must've been serious._

_The sliding glass doors to the medical room part. At the first sound breaking of dead silence besides the clock, Wally's head turns so fast he felt his neck crack, eager to see his wife finally emerging and hopefully feeling better again. _

_His beloved Eve stood unmoving, completely lost in thought. Her eyes and her cheeks were moist, like she was crying._

_Wally's complete attention shot up, his love for Eve kicking into overdrive sighting a trace of any saddened expression on her face; he rushes out of the chair and quickly tends to his wife._

"_Evah! What's the matter? Are you alright?" He holds her tightly, looking into her face for an answer to her troubled mind. __But Wally notices that something wasn't right; her eyes we're not reddened, she didn't look like she was crying in sadness at all._

_Eve had a real, genuinely shining smile instead, one that meant she was truly happy, as she always had been ever since the night she married him. __'Then what just made her so happy if she felt so sad __and__ sick just prior?' Wally thought._

_Eve snapped out of her trance and noticed Wally embracing her, and seeing his uncertainty. _"_Nothing's wrong, Wally." Eve sincerely spoke; she planted a lingering soft kiss on his lips and returned the tight hug, snuggling into the nape of his neck._

_Despite how well she looked, her reassurance, and her display of such affection (which always felt so entrancing to feel a kiss from her), Wally was still at a loss. He slightly parted from their hug but kept holding her, and kept pressing for answers._"_B-b-but…y-you looked sad. What happened? What d-did the doctor say? D-Did h-he say you are very il-ill?" He was getting the stutters again, his worry now feed with confusion._

_Eve's smile grew wider, this was going to be a sudden, out of the blue, and joyous surprise for him. _"_I'm not sad at all, my love…it's just...I'm happy." she carasses his hand with her own._

"_In fact…I'm…I'm very happy. Not only because I'm healthy…" She spoke quietly; she stood close with her husband, taking their intertwined hands letting them drift down her beautifully elegant chest. _

_"...It's because something happened." She said softly, with Wally's worry already at capacity, that statement sent fear for the unknown matter through him. What ever this medical mystery was, it was something that could change alot for both of them._

"_I think…I'm very happy because...the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to me…to us…has happened." __She holds Wally's hand over her abdominon, clearly something was up with her. __Wally digests the words carefully and what she was physically expressing._

_He__ looked at his interlocked hand pressed into Eve's smooth and firm midsection, she wore her civilian clothing but he could feel through the nanocloth as if it weren't there, and feel the softness of her skin; Wally felt her warmth run through him as it always has whenever he touched her, moments he __did not ever __take for granted. _

_Not after how he felt her completely for the first time when..._

_Wally thought back to the night they celebrated their wedding, July 16__th__, roughly nine weeks ago. __When they laughed and danced together, held each other, kissed each other, loved each other; and when they returned to Eve's home aboard the _Axiom_, did something extraordinary that night. _

_Something that Eve told was what people did who loved each other so much, initiating full contact with each other to create and enforce that bond a husband and a wife shared, something they do whenever they felt like the time was just right when they were together at night. _

_Eve said to him that she was worried that it wounldn't be possible for him to be able for it to happen, that he was 'impotent'. Wally didn't comprehend the entire meaning of what she meant, though he would have guessed that it was a physical ritual done by most coulpes within the heat of the moments they shared together, and how it would impact their understanding of each others feelings, for better or worse. _

_She also said that it might not be possible after reminding him of how the things he lived through might not make it possible. He didn't want to remember some of the things done to him, and he felt worry for if this inflicted disability might have on their love. But having never experienced the act of what she wanted to explain to see if they could try it in order to miss it, he wouldn't worry of the outcome of the ability to do so or not. They would try and see if they could bring something entirely new and wonderful into their lives; and if not, they would not fret too much, for they will still love each other no matter what._

_It was rather difficult for Eve to explain how all the physical things of their bodies for the act worked since she was flustered about the details, making him just as bewildered and worried; especially when she just got to the point of actually showing him what she was talking about to make it understandable for him, by getting up from their newly shared mattress, still adorned in her wedding gown, and undressed in front of him. _

_Wally initially looked away not just out of modesty but in fear of the memory of the last time he saw her naked, and what she did to him for it. But a sensuous and a provocative Eve told him to relax and do whatever he wanted to her, and she meant anything, from looking at her over and touching her all over as much as he pleased. _

_He didn't really understand what she meant until he finally allowed himself to give into her reassurance, and he laid eyes on the entirely naked angel before him; posed with her hips swaying and her back arched as she provocatively removed the last of her undergarments to reveal the last unseen places of her bare feminine figure. The sight of his naked Eve made everything he knew of her completely underestimated in terms of how impossibly magnificent she was as a whole being, both her physical body and her soul equally majestic and blindingly gorgeous as he saw all that she was. The amazement of her left him speechless and frozen in place as he azed over her. _

_Words had failed him to describe the wonder, awe, and sheer feminine elegance of her natural form, other than mouthing the words "...so beautiful"._

_Aside from the tender and loving face he knew and cherished so well, he took in everything he saw of her every exposed lust-inducing curvacuous shape of her body: the exotic long legs and seductively narrow waist, the tight muscles of her abs, arms and thighs, and her velvet-smooth and naturally toned skin shinned very brightly as much as her long hair further illuminates her like white fire. He also gazes without shame at Eve's supple breasts, the most hypnotizing and gorgeous part of her that never failed to capture his every piece of attention. _

_And further south, something Wally had never seen once in his life or ever thought he would: her sacred and untouched womanly entrance all for him to see, and apparently, all for him to claim._

_Eve was touched in her heart by his shocked reaction, showing his honest and true thought of her beauty; seeing that he looked at her as if she were the ancient Roman goddess of love herself in all her glory. _

_Remembering that he had seen terrible and dark things throughout his life, and had not once even experienced the light of affection, especially of when a lover willingly gives themselves to him, she must have been everything that went against what he knew. She was so beautiful it almost hurt Wally to look at her; it made her feel pity for what he was deprived of, but more determined to show him everything entitled with their love._

_She held a glint of intimate longing in her eyes for Wally, silently begging him to just take her, and hopping that he can fulfill his every human instinctional desire that he never experienced in his life, with her. If he wasn't capable, at least he saw the full beauty of whom he had married._

_After just seeing the way she looked at him as she presented herself that way, it sparked the thought of feeling her over at that moment; and he felt the bizzare and embarrasing swelling from just looking at and thinking of her bare body. _

_Eve half-laughed and half-cried in joy and relief at that sight. It was all she needed to put her doubts to ease._

_Wally was surprised by her glassy eyed reaction but Eve reassured him that everything was fine, and she took one of his hands and placed it on her breast. Wally just looked at the sight with his mouth agap in shock, captivation, and...wanting. Not in fear as his first thought of being beaten by just touching her there, but, the sensation of her soft womanly chest in his hand sparked an unbelievable ache within him to feel more, for just feeling her brought out a sensual warmth he has not experienced unlike anything he ever desired._

_Though he had no idea what to do, nor did Eve since she and Wally had never done what they were going to do, she simply said "do whatever feels natural". _

_And from that point on, he didn't know how he understood it all, nor how he too got undressed or how they got into their bed without breaking away from kissing her deeply and while she whispered sultry things into his ear. But a dumbstruck and breathtaken Wally got the idea of how his bodily reactions and the beautiful body of the wife in his arms worked together. _

_Wally wasn't impotent after all; Eve was so relieved and so happy that it made the physical experience all the more deeply loving and ecstatic, and reminded to take the sensations of feeling his wife's entire body as a gift from heaven. _

_It all became as Eve promised, the most wonderful moments of his life. _

_It was the first night of many that they shared together as husband and wife, teasuring it as theirs and theirs only. A night back at their new home, in bed where they felt the ultimate rapture of their love by feeling their bare bodies against each other so gently yet so fiery at the same time. Passionately kissing, touching, and pleasing each other in ways Wally never thought humanly possible, screaming each others names in extreme pleasure when unimaginable sensations escaped them as they…well, to put in decent terms without leaving out the actual experience: lets just say Wally learned more about reproductive anatomy than he ever though he would, especially the wonders and beauty of the human female body. _

_For the unforgettable night and the nights following of what they did together __had made the memory of seeing Eve in her undergarments before him in the ward no where near as breathtaking and as sensational as what he felt of the womanly places of her completely naked and unbelievably beautiful body intertwinded with his own: seeing **all **of the skin and natural figure of Eve from angles he didn't know culd be so reveiling and intoxicating in themselves, hearing her moaning in rapture with him from their interconnected movements, but also feeling all of her, possessively holding her close as she does with him, ravishing her into elation with his touch; and after finally understanding the application of his lower bodily reactions, being inside her sacred entrance, hence being inside of her. _

___Every rythmic movement in and out of her had brought out sensations that were beyond words of feeling more than in both pleasure and pain, very good kind of pain, or rather, a pressure stimulation for both Wally and Eve; and that pressure grew more stronger and insurppressible by the steadily increased tempo meeting the resistance of their bodies tightening within them, like something within them was fighting to escape from them, making each other surrender to this burning desire as it was forcing its way throughout their connected bodies. _

___And in the last moments it all felt instantaneous, the unfamiliar physical sensations of the overwhelming pressure within Wally finally released all its energy with a brief yet a powerful tingle that had locked up his body and overtook all his senses in a blinding flash in his mind; and in that moment Wally had never held Eve so close and so tight to him before as he felt something unimaginably euphoric wash over him. _

___It can only be described as a feeling that went beyond the heavenly first kiss he had with Eve, it was beyond comprehension. But it had passed on into Eve who as well felt an explosion of esctasy within her as she reached her own climax, her body seizing up outside and inside, crying out his name in a voice that was the most vexing sound he ever heard from her; laced with purely satisfied pleasure unleashed from within her core. And that unleash of internal energy inside Eve was further intensified by the unfamiliar yet intoxicating feeling of the transfer of his essense into her; it was as if they had touched each other's souls physically ____in ____that very instant suspended in their own realm of space-time. They felt like they had temporarily became one____._

___Afterwards, the mere minutes long act had left them both blissfully exhausted and content with just being with each other in the afterglow of the moment; laying huddled up and naked in bed together, looking deep into their eyes____ as if they were all that existed; and had learned more about each other, themselves, and what their love was all about on that night._

_In other words, it was the night they consummated their marriage, truly showing how much they loved each other to one another. They brought out their love into the open, or made thier first love to one another._

_And following that night, it was the most enticing thing Wally had ever known to exist to share with Eve, to have the ability to show her how much he loved her, and even better that he and Eve cherished every single time better than the last, loving each other even more. Indeed that with their freedom of lovemaking has been a huge change in their love and their lives for the better._

_But something nagged on him for what they did on that night, involving the consequences of their lovemakng. Involving his learning of reproduction and how new life came from it, but was it a metaphorical meaning for the spiritual or deep feelings of the experience? That already happened to them; aside from the knowledge of how new humans, babies, were created from the act of lovemaking. Involving the woman who after a passage of random sicknesses and time would start to show signs of a baby growing...inside of...their..._

_...Wally looks back down at his hand still pressed on Eve's flat and muscled stomach..._

_His expression jolts wide-eyed in the epiphany of his life. _

_Eve's hormonal symptoms, the time passed since then, the body language, her apparent happiness, it all fell into a really unexpected place. _

_"Wally..." _

_Eve's moistened eyes gleamed of returning tears, this was probrably the greatest, most wonderful, and most immeasurably joyous accidental thing that has indeed happened to the couple. The life-changing realization froze Wally on the spot and short circuited his mind as Eve herself said it all in the tenderest way._

_"...I...I'm pregnant." _

_That was all he needed to hear to faint before he felt hitting the floor, but not before seeing her joyous-teared face turn bright with a giggle for surprising him with such news; they finally had a diagnosis now, and a life-changing one: Eve was now a soon-to-be mother of a child, Wally's child._

_He was going to be a father._

…

(Next flashback)

**Burtt residence, 0056hours, 24th April, 0 A.X. (2806 A.D.) 10 months after the Axiom's return, 9 months after Wally and Eve's wedding…**

"_Ooooh!..."_

_A sound woke Wally up from deep sleep. It was still dark, checking the chronometer next to the warm and cozy memory-foam mattress he refused to leave; it registered a time of 12:56 AM. _

"_OOoohhh!" __The sound returns again with movement next to him. Wally sat up straighter than an arrow, knowing that sound and movement full well as distress from Eve. _

"_OOooHH! Wally!" She groaned in stabbing pain._

_Eve sat up next to him in the bed hyperventilating, one hand was clutching the bed sheets, and the other was grasping her 9-month expectant belly. A wet spot formed through her sheet, and Wally was wide awake when he realizes what that meant; her water broke._

"_WE HAVE TO GO! NOW!"_

_He shot out of the bed, landing on his feet next to a startled Hal. Wally hastily puts on a set of clothes but doesn't bother to put on shoes as he helps Eve out of the bed. She stumbles a bit; Wally almost panics for the extremely delicate and sacred life form that was inside her, so he tenderly picks her up in his arms and carries her to an awaiting maglev tram outside. Eve clenched her teeth in sharp pain as labor set in. _

"_Just Breathe, Evah! Breathe Deep!" Wally said through his stuttering as he places Eve in the tram as gently as he can, it's automatic programming took over as Wally steps in and it speeds off with whiplashing speed, the autopilot of the tram also sent out a distress call, notifying several important people of what was about to transpire._

_It was dark and stary out outside, cool air and no one out and about to get in the way. From their new estate on the location of Wally's new home on the bridge, it's a good 6-7 kilometers to the _Axiom_ and to the inside towards the medical center, but Wally and Eve had no trouble getting there at flank speed now that instant transportation was possible with the hovering trams and chairs being brought out of the ship to haul supplies and people to long distances. (By the new recolonization laws by McCrea, not wanting humanity to revert back to its lazy days with overreliance on this technology, was allowed only to be used for emergencies and absolute necessities) and that emergency was now. _

_In a blur without hindrance from other forms of traffic or the lack of people out in the night, their tram already arrived inside the_ Axiom _and its medical center, zooming past the sliding glass doors as if it were about to crash through it._

_The tram comes to a sudden stop; Wally toppled over the edge and skidded a few meters in a cartoonish fashion, drawing a giggle from Eve even through her labor pains. _

"_Wally! Eve!" An awaiting doctor cheerfully greets from across the ward. __The sliding glass doors open up again to five familiar faces._

"…_And us!… just in time…as it appears!" Captain McCrea enthusiastically added, panting from running all the way to the med center from his quarters, still chubby in his pajamas and slip-on shoes. Also with him was Defib who was now a nurse, with Moe as her delivery assistant, Jon and most importantly: Mary, the mid-wife. _

_They were all equally out of breath from rushing to the medical center after being called up by Eve's arrival on the emergency tram, they all forget to get out of their sleeping attire but wasted no time donning hospital gowns get and right to work on stabilizing Eve. __After Wally regains his composure and dons a gown, he helped Eve onto a bed and kept her comfortable as the others prepared for what they had to do. _

_The doctor and Defib hooked up Eve with an IV linked to a holographic vital readings screen, Moe prepared all the supplies they would need, Jon, Mary, and the Captain monitored Eve's progress and the baby's health; no difficulties or complications arose as her labor became heavier and heavier._

_The Medical center was mostly empty; no other patients were present at this time at night besides Eve and the new life inside her womb, Eve and Wally's child, about to be brought into the world._

_The monitoring screens flashed an alert as Eve felt her cervix dilate, though she was semi-relaxed most of the time, she started groaning in pain as the baby shifted around inside her, bringing her to whimper. Wally hated to see Eve in agony, even though this was going to be a very special moment that will change their lives forever, Eve was the one who had to suffer through all of it; he felt guilty for inadvertedly putting her through all of this pain, but all he had to do to ease her pain was to just be with her. A very welcoming solution, just knowing that he is all she needs to feel okay enough to endure until the worst part was over._

_Wally instinctively grasped Eve's hand with both of his, distracting Eve as he spoke, "__Don't worry my love, I'm right here for you." _

_Though Eve was only temporarily drawn away from the burning pain between her legs, she smiled with glassy eyes at him; she was so touched by his words that she felt relieved of any anxiety of this terrifying and exciting moment that her devout husband will be by her side through the whole process; just as eager as she was to see the most beautiful thing they have brought into existance. _

_Mary takes her place at the end of the bed as everyone else watches; this was it, the delivery was underway. _

"_Alright, Eve, Push!"_

_Eve began her deep breathing cycle and pushed; she held onto Wally's prosthetic hand as she felt the real pain of childbirth hit her full force._

_Eve decided to go for a natural birth sequence without the use of epidurals or anesthetics for the sake of the infant not being drugged up; though as expected, when her contractions hit she had to fight __**really**__ hard not to scream her head off against such incredible pain as she pushed harder and harder. She was a tough woman, and this was going to be short lasting pain, soon enough it'll all be over and she will see her newborn son or daughter. _

_Now that this very moment Eve had surprised him for was finally happening after forty weeks of preparing for what they never expected for but embraced entirely, Wally did not believe the sight in front of him; it all seemed like a dream. The love of his life was giving birth to his child. _

"_Push! __Come On, Girl! Push! PUSH! Baby's Crowning!" Mary calmly said._

_Eve clenched her teeth and grunted madly as she struggled to get the head out, each push stung like a bolt of lightning;__ getting shot didn't seem so bad compared to this. Her suppressed screams were spine-tingling to everyone who heard her, making McCrea and the rest of those present back away, except for Mary and Wally. _

_Eve tightened her grip on Wally's hand, and her augmentated super strength had made Wally immediately feel just how strong she really was when he heard his titanium fingers and tungsten joints crunch together as if it were made of plastic. _

"_AGH! OwOwOwOw!" He nearly dropped to his knees, his artifical touch-sensitive nerves registered her clutching of his hand tightening, and it was painful enough even for a prosthetic!_

_She wasn't screaming as much with a vise grip on his hand, Eve was, in a way, transitioning her pain to him. Moe and Jon tried to pry Wally away from her grip, but it was futile, he was caught in a hand lock equivalent for a hydraulic press. Even her grip on the railing to her bedside was compressed in her hand like tin foil. But Wally refused to leave his spot beside Eve anyway, she needed his presence to make it through, and he will see her make it throught, to see her happy and his baby born…_

_...__As the dark night sky outside turned violet red from the crack of dawn, and s_even grueling hours of stabbing and burning pain had passed, Eve let out all the air in her lungs in one final push. Now that she couldn't take it anymore, she let out probrably the most violent screams to ever leave her lips, terrifying shrieking built up and released at last after so much agony. Her pained cries echoed throughout the medical center, striking fear into anyone whose hearing picked it up, and those near Eve's bed backed away a distance. 

_Suddenly after another intense scream from Eve, a small sharp wail filled the air of the ward, and everyone gasped. Wally, who had all but passed out from the pain inflicted by Eve onto his now dented, deformed prosthetic hand and the mental overload of this moment in his life, immediately turned to the source of the sound. _

_Mary turned to them with a gleam of happiness in her eyes, she was holding a crying newborn baby girl. __"Oh happy day! __Your daughter's here!"_

_Eve was heavily panting and in tears, but her eyes showed that she was stunned; she weakly whimpered. She was so relieved of the pain fading away all of a sudden; but she was crying mostly so full of total joy, she was now a mother. __Wally was in total shock and awe at seeing the form of his child for the first time, and his shock was accompanied with pure joy as well, he was now a father._

_"Oh, Congradulations!" McCrea exclaimed happily, everyone else cheered as well. _

"_Wally? Would you do the honors?__" Defib handed Wally a surgical knife, confused at first until it was indicated that it was tradition for new fathers to cut their newborn child's umbilical cord._

_Taking the knife, he carefully cuts the cord without flaw; Mary, Moe, and Defib carefully cleaned the baby up, Moe scrubbed as gently as he possibly could (occasionally looking back at Eve to make sure she was satisfied with his extremely soft handling of her delicate just-born baby over his unnerving fear of the gross fluids he cleaned off of her) and Defib took blood samples for immediate testing. When they finished, Mary wrapped up the baby in a snug bundle and was returned to Eve's awaiting arms, who tenderly took her and gasped in joy as she looked at her crying newborn daughter. _

_Weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 14 inches in lenght, she had dark, curly brown hair and a sun-bleached skin color like her father, and she possessed the smooth skin, narrow jaw line, and a tiny nose like her mother. She was perfectly healthy, Defib having found in the sample scan results that the baby had no illnesses or deformaties from the concerning toxic chemical defects in Wally's genetics, it was a miraculous chance to not tobe solaced with such toxins from a parent. _

_Eve was overflowing with pure happiness, __the tiny little baby that was in her arms made nothing else seemed to exist to Eve as she held her in that moment; not the hospital, not the colony, not her duty, not the _Axiom___, and not the Earth. All of her worries and thoughts of the outside world had faded away from her mind, her baby was now the entire universe to her._

_Eve gently stroked her daughter's fluff of hair, soothing her weeping. _

"_Hey you…I'm your mommy." __Eve softly spoke as she gently held her daughter close, she calmed down as she felt the safety of her mother's chest and the warmth of her beating heart. Eve felt like crying aloud again, knowing she was caressing her own baby. _

_The most beautiful thing she once thought would never be born from her. _

_Back on that day seven months ago, when Eve shockingly discovered that she was pregnant, she refused to believe it, having thought that she would never be able to have a baby. The augmentations and genetic enhancements that made Eve's superhuman body for what it was, rendered every female E.V.R.E. scout infertile. _

_She enjoyed being with kids, but Eve never considered she would ever want or need the possibility of having her own children to tradeoff in favor for the enhancements of a career that defined her very life. __But after having that life forever changed by Wally, the one and only person who would give her his very life for her heart, he offered her the serenity in having the sweetest and most selfless man as her soulmate; though it saddened her to think about how she regretted not being able to conceive with him and never give Wally a family if not for herself. _

_But unbeknowest to her then, after spending just one very passionate night with the one she loved, it was all proven wrong. The doctors spent a day of testing to diagnose the symptoms of her erratic behavior, and when they finally pinned the anomily down, all they had to do was show her just a single sonicgraphic scan; when she saw that image, the flickering heartbeat of a embryotic life form growing inside of her uterus, she cried in joy that day. It was a miracle, by some divine happy mistake she was proven that she wasn't sterile at all. Eve thought of how silly she was to not believe in miracles initially. Besides, resurrecting Wally was a miracle, and so was proving that he was capable of making love to her for all of this to begin with was another. _

_And now, she has given birth against all odds, for not all of the E.V.R.E. female scouts were infertile; and as a result of the series of the all Wally and Eve's doubts of each other's abilities proven wrong, they now have a child. The sum of everything most fortunate events up to this point, the child herself a miracle..._

_Wally stood next the bed and kept looking at the little bundle in Eve's arms, feeling a multitude of feelings take him over in this life-altering moment. _

_Eve turned to him. _"_Do you want to hold her, Wally?" Eve spoke; Wally nodded and carefully took the baby into his organic arm and used his deformed prosthetic arm to support her. He held her as tight and with as much care as he could muster for the beautiful life in his embrace who was no bigger than his forearm._

___The baby cooed in the secure and caring embrace of her father, and she opened her eyes for the first time_, which were the vivid, crystaline blues eyes of her mother; but they beheld the deep look of innocence inside them, the large eyes of her father. Wally was left speechless and overwhelmed as he saw how much this tiny child was of him and Eve, his own child created out of his love with Eve, s_omething he too thought he would never have._

_Eve had told him of her infertility that she had inhibited from her earlier years, from the genetic work performed on her that made her into who she was. She even told Wally that she was saddened with regret, to not be able to have children with him; something she thought a wife would do with a husband, to raise a family together. __Wally did feel a ping of sorrow for Eve and her uncertainty of being incapable of making him happy with what he didn't have, not that it bothered him. They knew that he had no biological family, and not being able to have a child would mean he would have no chance of having a blood relative; but they felt true sorrow for that they could not create something that was a part of them into a human life, something beautiful to bring out into the world. And Eve even once thought that she was worthless to Wally for it._

_Wally had never, and will never, ever consider the absurd idea that he would feel incomplete without a family, nor will he ever hold Eve against something like that even if she was sterile. For after living a hellish life of experiencing nothing but losing everything he knew, he was more than content with treasuring what he never thought he would have forever: his beloved Eve; no matter what decisions she made to become who she was, what she thought of herself, or what she was incapable of. _

_Wally enjoyed children, but he loved Eve; and he made that clear to her by comforting her with what he felt, that even if she was incapable of conception, Eve herself completed Wally; and he would never, **ever** cease to love her. _

_And now he has a daughter, Wally felt overwhelmingly more happiness than he thought he deserved to treasure and be grateful for; but the experiences of his life told him otherwise. _

_T__hroughout his entire existance on Earth, all he had ever seen, witnessed, heard, felt, or known, was death. Since he was just as old as the child in his arms, he had been raised around the destruction of life and the absence of new life being created and brought into existance since he watched his old family slowly die right before him, and having to grow up as an orphan with everyone he knew killing each other and following the same fate all around him; it was all he knew for the long three decades of his existance. Just death. __After so much pain, suffering, and destruction, Wally thought of the birth of life as if it's very existance, it's very name, defied reality. _

_Yet, it was most beautiful thing in the universe since love, and he once considered love impossible. __And now __he was holding a tiny new human life he had helped create and brought into existence, he was starring at his own flesh and blood that was made possible by the incredible and undescribable night he and Eve shared together that brought new meaning to what love had allowed them to do through their full contact. Wally and Eve didn't just create love that night, they actually created life._

_And now he saw just how precious it really was. _

_Tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his cheek to fall on his daughter's forehead, he choked back a sob as he cradled the baby as close as he could, rocking back and forward slowly with the baby; Wally felt a lifetime's worth of emotions escape from him, so much pain and so much happiness. Much like how he did with Eve when he vowed to be happily united with her forever, it wasn't a sad thing to feel this vulnerable, in fact to the last time he felt this way, it felt very good and relieving to let his emotions out._

"_Let it all out, Wally." Eve spoke with a sniffle, her tears returning as she saw Wally break down in front of her, both the new parents cried dearly as everyone else in the ward sniffled and felt watery-eyed as well..._

_...Wallace and Evelyn Knight-Burtt stared at and charished their newborn daughter with so much love and compassion for a long moment suspended in silence and wonder, the sun peaked over the eastern horizon, the morning rays poured into the ward and shined on the new family. Nothing, not one individual or force of nature or worry seemed to exist anymore in this one, tiny, and beautiful moment. Seeing the birth of new life was indeed a very beautiful moment to behold..._

_...Wally sat next to Eve on the hospital bed as she breast-feeded the baby. Wally couldn't help but smile brightly as he looked at, what was now, his family. Eve and... He then realizes they haven't given the baby a name._

"_Evah? What should we name our daughter?"_

_She looked up to him puzzled, but then realized that they haven't even came up with names during the last seven months, for they didn't want to spoil the surprise of learning the baby's gender._

"_Hmmm…" She puts a finger to her lip as she looks at the baby suckling on her nipple, brainstorming some names with Wally. __There were literally limitless names, but he wanted one that would stand out from all of them; one that would reflect her significance to his and Eve's bond. _

_Wally takes another look at the baby, she really looked so much like her parents in every way. Maybe a name that almost combined his and her's would fit that choice. But how? _

_"Walleve?" he offered, but Eve shook her head._

"_That doesn't make sense, silly, how abooouut…sayyy…'Evy?' or 'Eevee?'"_

_Wally hesitated, it sounded like a beautiful name for how common the baby looked like Eve, but it still didn't fit what he thought would be a combination of their own names. _

_He continued brainstorming. 'Wevee?' 'Evely?', 'Wev-' _

_He turned to Eve, and she said the name simultaneously with Wally._

"_Wendy!" _

_They both looked at each other in surprise, it perfectly fit the sound of both their names, was a female name, and it made sense to say. _

_McCrea smiled and filled out a birth certificate for her, now that both parents are at an agreement for christening their child._

"_Wendy Burtt it is." He repeated, typing in her name into the _Axiom's_ roster. _

"_And such a beautiful name for a beautiful baby." Mary gently stroked the baby too, knowing all well how to handle children now with Jon and the toddlers._

_The newly-named Wendy fell asleep in Eve's arms, Eve herself felt like dozing off; she was very sore all over from the very long night of childbirth and needed a lot of rest. _

"_Well__, Eve..." __The ward's doctor unhooked Eve from her readings to make her more comfortable. "..._why don't you just go ahead and get some rest, we'll be more than happy to take you home later." 

_"And we can tell everyone of this wonderful day for this wonderful little girl!" McCrea said. Everyone offers their goodbyes and left the ward, going home for some rest so they can later take the Burtts home, getting their new baby settled in and adjusted to life around her, and soon the populace of the _Axiom_ will like to hear about the first human baby born on Earth since humanity's return. But they'll deal with it all later, now they needed to just relax._

_The doctors close off the ward to give Wally and Eve some peace. The lights and windows were dimed to offer the family a well deserved seclusion, they will rest for now, and celebrate later._

_Wally laid beside Eve in her bed, and scooted closer to her; he too felt like he needed to sleep after a long night. Though he'll still have to replace his prosthetic arm, yet again, after Eve's death grip on him. But he'll deal with it later, and just cherish the moment._

_He admiringly looked at Wendy as she yawned and tossed in her bundle, he softly spoke to Eve, "She's so beautiful. Just like you."_

_Eve looked to him with her still moist eyes, she places a tender hand on his cheek and plants a kiss on his lips. Their child may have been a coincidental accident that proved her fertility, it was still the greatest thing to happen to both of them. _

"_Thank you." Eve spoke ever so softly._

_But Wally was the one who was truly thankful, for his wife for going through nine pain-staking months of carrying his child and giving birth to her. She had strenght he couldn't possibly match, if she could survive an outnumbering one-sided gun battle, lift entire trains with her own two hands, fly in the vast sky or in the vacuum of space, give childbirth, and be the most devoted wife and the most loving mother one could ever be, there is nothing she cannot do, and she herself have proven all of it. And he loved her so much for it._

"_I love you, Evah." Wally passionately returned the kiss, and turned to Wendy and gently planted one on her forehead. _" _And I love you, Wendy."_

_Touched beyond words she could reply with, Eve snuggled into Wally with Wendy and kissed him wherever she could. "I love you, Wally. We love you, so much."_

_Wally couldn't possibly ask for anything more…except for sleep of course, for the three all felt extremely tired._

_Wally wraps his arms around his wife and newborn daughter, the entire family fell into much needed sleep. He feels the softness of Eve in his arms with Wendy nesteld safely between him and Eve; the last thing his senses register is Eve's voice soothingly echoing his name…_

"…_Wally…Wally…"_

_..._

(flashforward to present time Wally awakening from his dreams)

"…Wally…Wally…"

He felt a soft touch shaking him out of deep sleep.

"Mmm?" Wally pops his eyes open to see Eve, who was lightly shaking him awake.

He was mesmerized by the morning sunlight reflecting off her and how she looked to him at the angle of how he was looking at her. She propped herself up from where she slept on one arm, making her supple chest stick out in the air as the sun bore down on her, making her white night gown and hair glow with their own aurora; he was waking up to his hypnotizing angel.

"Hey you." Wally playfully said still semi-asleep.

"Hey you too." Eve happily replied. "You slept good didn't you."

Wally euphorically nodded as he kept his head in the fluff pillow, not wanting to leave the comfort of the warm fabric cushion, blankets, pillow, and the tranquility of his dreams of memories past.

"Had a good dream to sleep to."

"Oh…" Eve replied interested. "Tell me."

Wally sighed dreamily and closed his eyes again. "Mmmm…Just memories." He took her hand into his, feeling her soft skin in his calloused palm. "Of everything that's happened to me ever since our first kiss onward…life felt so good it all seemed like a dream."

Eve looked at him with a warm smile, touched knowing how much Wally's happiness with her made her all the happier with him as well; she leans down and plants a long, soft kiss on his lips as she always does, but also in graditute for his never ending ways of how his words make her heart melt.

Bright sunlight filled the room through the translucent ceiling, it was already late-morning and they had to be leaving soon.

Eve got out of the bed. "Ok c'mon, we're going to the _Axiom_ today."

"Hmm, I think I'd rather want to stay right in here, with you." Wally said as he took Eve's hand with his under the pillow, to get her to go back to sleep with him. Eve would love that, but a certain someone is going to see the ship today and they had to go with her.

Wally shifted to get cozy again in the bed, but Eve teasingly tried to get him out.

"Oh no you don't…" she yanked the comforter and sheets off of Wally; he was just wearing cotton sweats without the warm sheets.

"… We are goanna get up and go outside into the fresh, cool air, and have some fun."

Wally didn't budge, and kept his eyes shut in euphoria. "Mmmm…nope."

Small knocks came from the bedroom door. Knowing who it is, Eve now had a way to give her husband a little convincing.

"Suit yourself." Eve mischeviously warned, she walked to the door and opened it. And in came a hyper little girl, who Eve was sure she would get Wally out of bed.

"Daddy!"

Wendy jumped up and on top of her father in the bed, "Ouffh!" Wally immediately jolted up when she landed on him.

Wendy tickled her father mercilessly, as he tried to resist he only ended up falling over the edge of the bed. Hal also entered the room and started barking in excitement as Wendy tickled her father senseless. Eve went into a giggling fit seeing her husband and daughter go at it.

"Hahaha, okay, okay I'm awake!" Wally surrendered to his daughter as she sat on his chest victoriously. Wally looked at her, remembering in his dream of just how small she was as a baby and how she was now.

She was a short girl for her age, six years old and approximately less than 3 feet tall wearing tomboy coveralls, she had shoulder length curly brown hair, a cute face with a tiny nose and vivid blue eyes. She was also covered in a layer of dirt, she must've been playing outside again.

She is every bit as much of her parents and their personalities, with the sense of curiousity from her father, her mother's initiative drive, and had so much kindness and energy. And is a master of making people laugh, via tickle torture in her father's case. Not to mention she was a master of getting herself into trouble with all the hyperactive energy she had.

"Can we go to the spaceship today? Huh, Daddy?" Wendy begged Wally. "Oh plesepleasepleaseplease,pretty please!"

Wally chuckled; he may not see the realistic dream of holding her again as a baby, he is always glad to spend time with her. And today was going to be a very special gathering at the _Axiom_, and he didn't want to miss it for the world.

"Yes we're going, sweetie."

Wendy jumped up in joy. "YAAA! THANKYOUTHANKTHANKYOU!" she embraced her father tightly around his chest and didn't want to let go. They were going to the _Axiom _for the septennial celebration.

* * *

**A/N: There you have it, the second installation of the humanized epilogue and the hint of the third and final one. **

**As for Wendy, i hope that the fanfic writter who made that OC name can recieve my thanks for creating her. **

**Read and Review, and i hope that everyone enjoyed it, even if i felt like my head and sinus's were going to explode, i think my efforts to get this done are worth it.**

**Now I am about to work on, which i solumly swear in sickness and health, the very final chapter to this story: **

**'Epilogue, Part III: 12.2 Horizons'. **


	34. Epilogue, Part III: 122 Horizons

****

Oh where do i begin...

How do i apologize for such a _looooooooooonnnnngggg_ absence?

**First off, I'll simply say that I'm sorry for the overdue update...badly. (And i am dearly grateful i didn't get hazes, jeers, or threats from anyone to continue) And secondly, when i posted my most recent chapter i was suffering from a serious sinus illness (i almost thought it was bronchitis but rather just a sinus infection that felt like the flu), and yes i am still alive and well. **

**But i had been away from ending this story in a timely fashion as i use to for which of the following reasons?**

**a) - Engineering school got more complicated**

**b) - Writer's bloc**

**c) - Lost motivation**

**d) - Re-re-re-re-editing that had to be done**

**e) - All of the above**

**If you guessed 'E' give yourself an A+ on the free quiz for anything academic-related you want, even if your teachers won't allow it.**

**But, now that i am back i can final cross the finish line with what i started writing eight months ago. Took me awhile to compile a draft of what to make a good ending of a complete retelling of the story. **

**There were several ways i wanted to describe what a day for Wally's new life is like for a happy ending, so i chose the ending with a celebration for humanity's return, it's new-found care of it's homeworld, and how Wally cherishes his life with Eve. And for the record, it was quite difficult for me to come up with some suitable and meaningful dialogue for everyone, did a lot of reading other books and fanfics for referencing on human dialogue for characters who didn't speak in the movie. so i hope i did a good enough job.**

**Also, if my timing is right and memory serves, this chapter was to be published on the 28th of june, 2010, the 2 year anniversary of WALL-E's release! What a remembrance for such a masterpiece.**

**And, there are readers and reviewers i'd love to thank for seeing through this and sharing their thoughts on my first published fanfic, and the forever memorable love story of Wall-E. So after reading i will list those that have been great inspiration and guidance through this work. **

**Before reading, for the safety of my work, i do not own Wall-E, Pixar, Disney, or any other references you may find in this chapter. Also i do not own Jerry Herman's _Hello Dolly _or it's songs. And i do not own Peter Gabriel's song 'Down to Earth. (You'll see why as you read on.) And as a heads up, i made a juicy read-worthy moment for Wally and Eve near the end, it may seem suggestive to young minds, but its what i wrote and would be a great and intimate way to end the fic. but if you can't read it, thats alright.**

**And so, the posting we've all been _finally_ waiting for...**

**...the final chapter and end of the _Novelization_.**

EPILOGUE, PART III: 12.1 HORIZONS

Earth. A world once fabled as the 'blue planet'. Just a small speck of dust left over from the Big Bang, and it was the only place within that expansive void that was capable of supporting complex life.

And of all life ever spawned on that one pitifully beautiful rock, one form of life's significance almost outshined the sheer majesty of Mother Earth. A species that triumphed above all forms of evolutionary wonders, and brought many other races of life, even the Earth herself to her knees by his ways of survival.

And that species was man.

Yet, despite all he had accomplished and conquered, building a legacy unlike anything in the known universe, humanity's way of life became its very undoing.

As civilization grew larger, the power of human spirit and intelligence propelled man to the heavens; the very Earth they spawned and grew from became laid to waste by humanity's impurities, of all the things they created, they also used, spent, and destroyed. When their creations and growth became outweighed by the amount of how unclean its home planet had become, humanity could do little to slow its deterioration. Eventually, they had no choice, but to inhabit the heavens they had been working so hard to reach, and had long abandoned their planet as much regarded as the garbage they left behind on it.

Every continent and every ocean was poisoned and polluted beyond recognition from the planet's former glorious of blue-green beauty. And for seven centuries, it had remained that way: desolate, ugly, disgusting, and devoid of life. Not so different from the new lifestyle man has unwittingly confinded himself to within his starships. Confined to excessive luxuries and sloth, left aboard and scattered across the universe, their vessels filled with people living vain lives as drones, devoid of any actual life and without purpose.

Then, one day, it was forever changed by one plant, stumbled across by one lonely man that lead to a sequence of events towards the return of one great ship.

It was a journey that has been remembered as a testament to human willpower, the ability to change, to adapt, and to pursue the goals humans longed for. It was man's very legacy of his accomplishments that outshone others, the free will to acquire a common goal, a need or desire. And it was the goal of one garbage collector for earning the heart of a beautiful woman, and with the simple plant he brought, the significance of his quest grew into the lives of a ship, that changed Earth, and Humanity forever. That one lone human has brought the rest of our species home, the beginning of man's rebirth. Saved from sloth, uselessness, and ignorance, humanity now had a new purpose. As they had found the home planet they had long forgotten, they knew what had to be done: To revive their homeworld.

Though the secret of mankind's survival was its ability to spread above and beyond the world it originated, humans still had to tend to the delicate planet that had spawned them, like a grateful child caring for the loving mother that gave birth to whom.

They would take everything they had to begin with and rebuild their world into something better. It wouldn't be easy, but man has seen through so much in such a few spans of millenia, and man had the willpower to avoid repeating history, never again to let their mistakes destroy them as they once repeatedly tried to destroy each other. And man shall let his accomplishments propel him to regaining his excellence not as an enduring species that survived at ecological expenses of other species and the planet, but as a prospering, understanding, and caring species.

Not animalistic or violent as it once was, but still human nonetheless.

Earth, and human civilization was being reborn…

* * *

**Recolonization settlement 'Hope', Sector NA-001, BnLS **_**Axiom**_** Landing Site, 0958 Hours, June 28****th****, 7 A.X. (2812 A.D.) 7 years after the **_**Axiom's**_** return…**

The New York central colonial district 'Hope' was crowded, thousands of people gathered in and around the most predominant structure in the not-so-dry-anymore Hudson Bay, the mighty starship that had brought these people back from the farthest reaches of deep space and now sits unmoving as a museum. It has sat in its landing platform for exactly seven years to the day since its return to Earth. Though no longer useful as a generation ship to wistfully cruise throughout the galaxy but rather a monumental piece of attracting people to see humanity's own Noah's Ark, a testament to the literally unsizable mean's of mankind's survival.

At the center of the refilled bay, surrounded by the Hope colony linked to the land by makeshift energy bridges, was the very vessel that brought the species back to Earth itself, the BnLS _Axiom_.

Now, standing tall and true yet as she sits dormant, as it will be forever, her gargantuan ion engines cold and silent, never to be used again to keep propelling humanity in space.

Each and every one of the people gathered knew how much the ship meant to them, it is a reminder for them and future generations to see and appreciate how for the human race has come to be on this planet today.

And of all the people gathered, two remember very vividly of how it came to be, with the exception of their daughter of course.

...

"WENDY! SLOW...DOWN!" Wally shouted out to his daughter, who was putting distance between herself and her father. He sprinted faster but lost his breath to her speed, which was bordering on record-breaking if not superhuman. No doubt she inherited her mother's strength.

Wendy went crazy as soon as her father said they could go. She shot up and ran towards the ship, her long awaited time to see it has finally arrived.

After a game of cat and mouse down the valley, across the bridges and into the dry area towards the central colony, Wendy looks up the side in awe, feeling dwarfed by the massive monolith of iron and steel towering even above the skyline.

Wendy rounds a corner towards the massive terminal stairway that led inside the ship, she's almost there...

"Not so fast young lady!"

Wendy was suddenly yanked up above the ground by a firm grip. Yelping in surprise, then sighing in defeat when she realized it was her mother.

She could leave her father in the dust, but often forgot one thing: her mother could fly. Only as long as Eve still kept her antigrav boots, and kept wearing them she did, regardless of what she wore; mostly nowadays so she had a way to hunt Wendy down and catch up with her at even the slightest hint of any mischief from her.

"We said we could come see the ship, not _run_ to the ship." Eve stubbornly told Wendy as she set her down. "Remember what i said about listening?"

"I did Mommy, you didn't say we _couldn't_ run to the ship." Wendy retorted.

"..." Eve was going to reply back but caught herself upon hearing her daughter's reasoning. Barely 6 years old and she's already talking and thinking like herself.

"I really wanna see 'Everything' today! There's too much stuff I don't know about I wanna know. More the reason for me to run."

No doubt that she has inherited her father's curiosity, plus her mother's intelligent mind and her intuitive drive to learn more about what she wanted. Not to mention a combination of her parents outward-looking personality traits have made her quite interactive and hyperactive; in other words: a troublemaker. If not planting or drawing flowers on random surfaces on public buildings, inside their home, or on the sides of other peoples homes for 'more color', she'd rather run off on her own, or tinker with things that may or will break, shock, or explode.

Eve shrugs off their argument and ruffled a hand through Wendy's hair. "You certainly do scare me, a little of me you are."

"At least now I could run almost as fast as you can fly..."

"Yes you can, but your not suppose to run away from me to begin with and your still not fast enough..." Eve replied, just as Wally caught up to them, collapsing to the ground out of breathe and faint in an almost cartoonish manner. On cue, Eve replied, "...and neither is your father."

Wally collected himself and spoke between heavy panting. "Yes...wendy...you...and...your mother are...going to be...the death of me like this...if I try to keep up."

Both girls giggled and helped him up, once he was back on his feet Wendy piggy-backed on Wally. Finally, in what seemed like a five minute jog for Wendy and a marathon for Wally, they have reached the _Axiom_.

Wally's whole body ached from chasing Wendy, but now that they were finally going to show her around the ship, he goes with her piggy back instead.

As they stepped inside, Wendy once again went bananas at everything she laid eyes on.

"WOW! Owowowo there there there!" She points towards one of the many buildings inside the ship, only just entering the main deck.

"Ophf, stay calm, Wendy! We'll see everything eventually." Wally said to settle down his daughter, yanking on his hair in excitement.

"You said that like 5 minutes ago, I wanna see everything now!" Wendy whined back.

Eve peaked up at her, "It's a big, big, Big, ship, so it's going to take a while."

In fact, the ship was so massive that at several kilometers away, it casted shadows on their home and over the city even in the middle of the day. The sheer size of the great starliner was an unimaginable engineering accomplishment. Almost hard to believe that something this colossal could actually move, hence the largest moving object ever made.

Before they could continue on, they came across a group of visitors. And an old friend.

A dramatically different Lieutenant Moe, extrovert and lax instead of the timid and compulsive cleaner he use to be, was guiding a group of tourists visiting the main deck.

"Uncle Moe!" Wendy yelled in joy as she hooped off Wally and ran through the crowd, Eve instinctively giving chase.

Moe noticed Wendy poking through the crowd as he spoke, and his face immediately lit up in delight as did the visiting people who immediately recognized the Burtts' daughter.

"Oh my….don't tell me you're here by yourself!" He proclaimed in mock surprise at the infamous 6 year old.

"Of course she's not!" Eve quickly grabbed Wendy's hand before she could run away from her further.

Moe stood at attention, but after seeing Eve not in her Commander's uniform, quickly assumed to be at ease and excited. "Oh, so good to see you again Eve! For a second I thought I'd you we're gonna order a tie-down for Wendy."

"Nah..." Wally approached, further delighting Moe to see another old friend. "...since we're here to just show her around anyway, she won't cause trouble."

Eve spoke again. "And she's definitely not going to roam the whole ship by herself, without someone to show her everything and not get into trouble, not after _last time_."

Not since after Wendy lost herself to curiosity when she wondered into the alluring lightshow of the colonies power plant, and nearly caused a blackout as she played with the controls, Wally and Eve will not let her out of her sight easily anytime soon, not after how Eve unloaded at her.

"So what are we going to see Uncle Moe?" Wendy sang, her radiant youthfulness pushed that memory aside and happily started asking as if nothing happened.

"Well, as i was just telling everyone, that here was the central area of the Axiom where i had once cleaned a trail of footprints from aft to bow..." Moe fired away as they began the tour, Wally, Eve, and Wendy decide to tag along.

To feed Wendy's inquisitive mind with more realistic details, Eve looked around for something to share memories of her time with as Moe spoke. But which one to start with? She has been…no, she lived on this ship her entire life and could say practically anything about what she saw.

Though everything she saw now was in light of how she and Wally meet and interacted while he was aboard. Making things way more delightful to talk about, regardless how pointless they seemed. Of course, she down-played the life threatening parts of the battle in the maintenance corridors or the ward for the sake of Wendy's young mind.

They continued with their tour throughout the ship, Wally and Eve recounting the memories they shared of chasing one another through the halls during the Ward outbreak from the medical center, to their space chase from the escape pods...and to the Lido deck.

"…and up there, ladies and gentleman was the Bridge. The place where the historic battle between the old Captain and most treacherous officers aboard a starship togain control of the _Axiom_."

At the forever rememberable site of the holo-detector ( which the device was still raised and any trace of blood was extensively cleaned off), Wally stopped, lost in thought. Though it was a spine-tingling place of memory for both him and Eve, Wendy was as curious as ever to learn about what transpired on this spot of the ship. The historic spot where the ship had reactivated and warped straight home. But she didn't know it was also the same spot where Wally fought to keep the holo-detector open for Eve, and where he was crushed to death underneath it.

Wally never remembered anything about what happened to him outside of him fading into that incomprehensible abyss after death, but he imagined the sight of his own blood pooling on the deck was enough for him to realize it must have been a very horrific sight, especially for Eve.

Wendy tugged at his side. When he looked down at her, he still was in the mindset of how he felt when being crushed by the hollow detector.

He wondered what would've happened if the holo-detector completely closed on him? Not only completely killing him but sealing the fates of everyone on board into an existence of imprisonment in space. And he thought of how Eve would've lived without him? How such a horrible life she would've had to live with the aftermath of his death. They wouldn't have been able to have all of the beautiful things they had today.

No refurbished planet Earth to call home, no freedom to explore the universe around them, no treasuring each other's company, or each other's love, and Wendy would never have been concieved. She would not have existed...

"Daddy? What's wrong?" Wendy nagged on his side again, completely drawing him out of his thousand-yard trance, realizing that the tour was moving on.

He looked at Eve, he was surprised to see that her eyes held a storm of grim speculation, but she gave him an understanding smile. She must have been thinking the same things he was, but also held a glint of cheerfulness of knowing that kind of life was never going to be reality since they prevented it from being so.

He was here. Eve was here, so was the _Axiom_ and because he survived, Wendy was here. It was that and not the _what if_, that mattered. He was still alive to tell the tale to his daughter. And treasure everything that they had, because he didn't die. Making him all the more grateful that he was alive and well.

"Nothing's wrong, sweetie." Wally reached down and picked Wendy up, planting a reassuring and cherishing kiss on her forehead.

Wendy was confused over her father's sudden act of parental affection, but her father's love made her forget her curiosity for the time being and just hugged him back. Eve also lit up in joy as she silently shared the same thought of gratefulness, Wally felt the gloomy atmosphere that was threatening to cloud their minds completely faded into warmth.

As they walked back to the rest of the tour group, Wally banished those thoughts of almost dying, and replaced them with the joy of his wife and daughter's company, and the touch of his wife's hand intertwinded with his.

...

After the hours long tour, one long enough to satisfy Wendy, everyone decides to head outside.

The noise of the celebration peaked as the three stepped outside into the cool evening, but felt warm and lively from the activity. Though to Wally it always felt lively to step outside into the colony, there were now 1.8 million people here, rather than just himself. And the scenery if not everything has certainly changed in the seven years with everyone here than all of his years by himself.

After the return, the entire population of the _Axiom_ had all commonly agreed to work together to recolonize the planet as the new home for themselves, and each person participated in rebuilding. Wally and Eve decided to stick with what they each did best, he collected garbage for refining raw materials into goods while she scouted out the sector for other signs of life and took responsibility of being head agriculturist/botanist of the colony's farming.

Eve was more than suited for her duties related to plants, aside from being a trained scout to find and identify them, she was unmatched at surveying the soil content for the appropriate seedlings to grow, how to water the amount, fertilize with the right chemical mixtures, and sew perfectly good cut and fertile crops to harvest food. In the time since they arrived, she had already turned half the uninudated landscape from desert brown to lush green. And soon she will teach others how to plant such scale and such freshness, but never as good as Eve can do it.

In Wally's case, though he had endless possibilities open for him for the recolonization, he chose to stay with what he did best for most of his life despite it being among the most mundane of tasks. Not because it was the only thing he did or knew how to do well (unlike for the most time in his life), because he now had a reason to collect trash, to build a better home for his Eve and Wendy, and for everyone and their future generations; and he was more than content regardless of the injuries he received from his work.

And a final reason, one of a delicate subject he only once ever opened up with to Eve, was so that all of his efforts and the efforts of his long dead brethren and ancestors, were not in vain. That after 700 years of work by the millions of garbage workers who labored, suffered, and died doing the clean up had not been for nothing.

The Captain also worked with them, spending time to take upon researching all the things necessary to make a comfortable settlement for a growing population of 1.6 to 1.8 million people from resource management, to infrastructural needs, and providing some physical stoop labor here and there that had dramatically made him less pudgy. He was even selected to be Governor of Hope, the first recolonization settlement and proved to be a great leader by the people, even working along side them down in the dirt. He even made Eve his new Second-in-Charge, taking what use to be the former position of Commander from whose traitorous officer shall not be named.

The small re-population settlement of Hope had been built around the immediate vicinity of the _Axiom_ and the boundaries of the Hudson Bay, near where resources were readily available to start rebuilding at the time of arrival. Miniature homes had been established by using the ship's escape pods, with thousands of them to shelter the population, and the buildings surrounding the Hudson and portions of New York have been cleared out to shelter the growing colony.

The _Axiom_'s external hull was gutted in some places, exposing internal structures; the scavenged components parts were used to build better homes out of the pods into sizable living structures (which were serious upgrades compared to the confined spaces of the ship's rooming), reconstructing destroyed buildings in the old city, and making new essential refining facilities to turn garbage into raw materials and in turn, make complex commodities. To provide power for it all, large superconductive cables ran from the starship's main ion engines' core into power line distributors below, linking up with the colonial electrical supply plant.

The humans now had infinite power from the ship's twin fusion propulsive reactors, and the trash towers provided all the great amounts of recyclable construction materials they needed to rebuild the metropolis they intend to repopulate in efforts to spread out to restore the sector, which was also taken care of by turning the hoverchairs into useful transportation of necessities other than blobs of humans.

There were only a few traces of desert left in the resurrected landscape of New York, the unnatural prevailing winds that barraged the city with storms of sand have ceased not too long ago, freeing people to travel about without worry of being buried alive, with some of the remaining flat areas of land turned into slush green crops of grown fruits, veggies, and plants. It helped the air quality pleanty, stopping the spread of abrasive sand throughout the region and the carcinogens or chemicals present in the air, and instead let it set into the soil. The sea level of the Atlantic Ocean had slowly risen to begin refilling the scorched valley of the dried up Hudson with a series of branched rivers, bringing in an abundance of greatly needed water to be desalinized for supporting the people.

There were hundreds to thousands of square miles left of garbage to collect, but with the help of the hundreds of thousands of strong people instead of just one man, the total cleanup of the northeastern sectors, possibly a portion of North America, could be within reach.

And that wasn't the only exciting thing, they have even made contact with _other_ BnL starliners out in space.

Since the return, it became among one of Eve's secondary tasks were to assist in re-establishing superluminal communications from Earth to all human starships still cruising throughout the Milky Way. Though it took a long time in order to get any response from the continuous signals sent from the _Axiom_. Everyday she would report to the ship's com spire with Governor McCrea's handed-down starship commander's authority codes and send out their messages to the ancient BnL radio-telescope array established on the far side of the Moon, sending out a subspace signal unfiltered by electromagnetic or ionospheric interference in all directions. The messages carried an encoded subroutine that ordered all First Officer recipients to respond, overrule General Order A113 and return to the planet Earth immediately.

Eve, sometimes accompanied with Wally and McCrea, continued that routine and monitored the receiving end of the coms in hopes of getting a response for a few weeks...then a few months...and for the next six and a half years...

Until finally, someone answered the _Axiom's_ call on last Christmas when the _Axiom's_ long-range sensors detected an in-system space-time rupture within the Sol System, and tracked a BnL starliner transponder heading towards Earth.

Hours after the event, Eve's six years of superluminal communications work has paid off when she received a signal from the _Axiom's_ sister ship: the BnLS _Exodus, _that it has made planet-fall in BnL Cleanup Sector _EU-003_, formerly the European megacity of London.

It was the first human starliner to successfully make contact with; it was the closest ship to Earth, cruising through the Lepus constellation approximately 111 light-years away. The _Exodus _had just recently recieved the very first signals sent out from Earth six and a half years before, the subspace boosted radiowave had to travel such astronomical distances as fast as subspace and the laws of space-time astrophysics could allow. Though it was also a big accomplishment for Eve that her encoded command for overriding General Order A113 had worked when the _Exodus'_s First Officer confirmed it, and also a program for the other crew that allowed them to bypass their holo-detector's programing to activate their ship's translight drive and navigate their way back to Earth without a specimen needed.

Though the _Exodus_ still couldn't be reached since point to point suborbital travel was hazardous with the satellite-crowded sky, but the _Axiom_ could still talk to her via VHF radio until the _Axiom's _atmospheric transports are operational again to fly across the Atlantic to finally meet the people of another BnL generation ship in person. Those over in Britain say that while trashed landscape was still everywhere, patches of lively plant life was breaking through the ruined soil, and the _Exodus_ will soon begin it's own recolonization of the Isles, and will soon make plans to cross into mainland Europe to rediscover the continent for more signs of life.

It took six and a half years to hail just one ship back to Earth, but if other ships were still lurking around neighboring star systems within the Orion galactic arm, it'll only be a matter of time before they recieve and return from the next few months to a few decades; there will still be plenty of cleaning up to do on Earth, and Eve will be waiting at her post until then. Eventually she'll get to work on some FTL probes that could be built to go back into space, getting better chances of spreading the return signal for all human starships scattered across the galaxy.

The rest of the human race will return very slowly, but surely.

* * *

Everything had been kept running 24/7 since day one after landing, to get Earth back to her former was going to take a long, _long, LONG_ time, but at least they could get it done for their descendents to live on a nice clean planet with a certain future.

But not tonight, no. Tonight was one of only times out of the year that the people have stopped to rest, and celebrate.

It was the seventh anniversary since the _Axiom_'s return to Earth, once every year on the 28th of June. 7 years to date since mankind returned to finish the clean up the mess of Shelby Forthright's legacy of a polluted planet. Often considered the new marker for another year's eve.

Tonight, was to celebrate the anniversary of not only the reuniting of Earth and Man, but of a different couple. The two that made it all possible. Wally celebrating 7 years of his new life with actual people to interact with! And not just any kind of people like those who tried to harm him and hunt him down like those long before this was all possible. No, these were friends, and now, family.

Wally and Eve spent their time strolling around, everyone greeting them as old friends whilst Wendy stayed out of trouble (a _very_ rare thing for her to do considering her hyperactivity). While Wendy busied herself with playing around in her parent's plain-sight with her best friend Hannah, Jon and Mary's daughter, the adults all conversed with each other, sampling the cuisine of lost human culinary arts made by hand instead of just liquid lunch in cup; they laughed over silly accidents, sang long forgotten songs, and shared new knowledge or old memories.

And customary to the celebration, everyone went to see a young tree growing out of an elevated patch of grass. It was surrounded by smaller commemorative seedlings planted in shoes and decorated individually, and accumulated over the years at this spot. And beneath the tree was a copper plaque with a shoe made of bronze, and a tiny copper weed. The plaque read:

_What You See Here - The tree that had brought a species to it's home planet. This tree was the exact same spot where our species left the Earth and returned again. All because of the one thing this world has spawned, harbored, tried and tested; and the species known as 'Humanity' defined it._

_This is the Tree of Life._

It was the exact same plant that Wally and Eve had fought so hard to bring it the Axiom, and in turn bring it back to Earth again. As much of a monument the goliath _Axiom_ was compared to this pitiful plant, the plant was the memorial for Humanity's return. Named for its literal symbol of life on Earth, for the people of the colony, hence it's namesake, was the hope of returning to find and rebuild life.

An tap on a loudspeaking system draws everyone's attention to the base of the _Axiom_. Wally, Eve, and Wendy make their way toward the growing sounds of music, so does the voice of some familiar old friends.

"Come On Everyone! Let's Get Some Celebrating Started!" Jon shouted over a microphone, gathering everyone's attention to a light-gridded amplitheater set up at the _Axiom'_s boarding terminal.

"Thanks, Jon." The old Captain McCrea, now Governor of the colony and incredibly more built with still a few extra pounds to lose, took his place at the podium and began the night.

"Tonight...we celebrate the day of new life. We celebrate the day our kind has been saved from the sloth of meaninglessness and indulgence. Today we celebrate the day our kind has been reborn...Tonight!...We Celebrate Our 7th Anniversary of the Return to Earth!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Jon picked up an old musical device called a 'guitar', picking each string and it's sound amplified around the gathering.

"To commemorate this historic day, let us bring out what we felt of coming home. Here's a song Jon and I found from the old abandoned record studios in the city, after screening it through the archieves, we found it to be a song by a very popular musican about planting our feet back onto sweet mother Earth."

"A song that let's us remember to care the mother of our kind." Jon said as he got to the center of the stage.

"It's called: 'Down to Earth.'"

The crowd cheers wildly as he situates himself onto the center stage with McCrea at the keyboards and a different set controls. Suddenly making the stage change shapes and colors as the light grids pulsated and disappeared, suddenly the stage background and set changing to interactive pictures, moving from caveman pictures of the _Axiom_ in it's landing pad, then to ancient Egyptians of the new colonyitself to Mayan mosaics of a newly reborn planet Earth. All reflecting the rebirth and rewriting of human history that began seven years ago.

Jon began singing into the microphone, and looking towards the sky. He was playing the voice of one of the most beloved musicians of humanity's past, Peter Gabriel. And of the song they were playing, there was no better fitting one for the commemoration of returning home.

Before Wally could join the crowd around him into cheering along, Eve held onto his shoulder and took off with him and Wendy in tow. They we're well outside the outer perimeter of the gathering where she stopped and faced Wally.

"Evah? You don't want to stay for the celebration?" He asked as a grin came across her face as she replied, "I have a better idea..."

She held up a fire extinguisher.

As Wally scrutinized the object, confused—then he remembered that spacewalk memory immediately. The most tranquil moment he felt to the definition of the word. No gravity, no sounds, no worries, just peace, and Eve.

In her other hand she held up just the things that made it possible: her antigrav boots and flickinger fields. And from what she was suggesting, make another spacewalk possible.

"_Did you think that your feet had been bound, by what gravity brings to the ground? _

___Did you feel you were tricked, by the future you picked? __Well, come on down..."_

Wally looked back at the stage to see the main act has began. He looked to Eve and back for a moment of hesitation. Eve noticed and her grin shrunk, growing concerned.

"What's wrong? You _don't_ want to go?" Eve uneasily speculated, she'd be okay with any decision Wally wanted. But over a cherished memory...

"Oh, nonono, I _do_ want to go Evah. I'd never refuse to relive _our_ spacewalk." Wally reassured her.

"It's just...ummm..." he thought for a moment, looking back at the stage and at Eve again. Thinking about how to say his intentions without spilling what he had planned.

_'Oh, what the heck.' _He shrugged and turned to Eve with a grin. "It's just I'm worried about getting back here in time for after the show. Since i've got something...planned for you." He chose his words carefully.

Hearing that, Eve looked at him with bewilderment, and excitement. "A surprise? For me?" Her face immediately lit up with joy. "Oh, What is it? What is it?"

Eve _loved_ surprises, especially from Wally. And he loved to keep her tense and excited over what he had in store to savor her prolong excitement. It was his way of teasing her. So, a spacewalk would be a great way to keep her occupied for the time being and tense over the surprise.

Wally chuckled, "Oh you'll see. I don't want to spoil it for you. And...a spacewalk would be fun if we could get back here at least in the next..." He checked the celebration again, the song still in the beginning, he made a guess.

"...17 minutes."

A bright mile wide smile grew on Eve's face, seventeen minutes to get to orbit, dance, and land back in the same place.

All the time in the world for her.

_"...All those rules don't apply, When you're high in the sky. _

_So, come on down. Come on down..."_

The only problem was what to do about Wendy?

Wally looked down at her and back up at Eve, who surprisingly enough, had spare flickinger fields. Looking at her, Wendy, and back again, Eve's expression said it all. They'll take her along, she'll be out of trouble while in their sight.

"Wendy." Eve turns her daughter around from her gazing at the concert to get her attention.

"What is it, Mommy? Can we join the dance?"

"We don't have too Wendy. We're going to a special place for a danc—"

"Back on the ship!" Wendy excitingly interrupted.

"Nope, someplace much, much better." she and Wally slip on her flickinger field gloves and help Wendy out with hers, activating the translucent fields and supplying their own air and protection. Realizing what her parents were preparing themselves for, Wendy's eyes go wide in shock and excitement.

"Are we..." She managed to get out, her breath caught in her throat and eyes wide as saucers like she just got the perfect Christmas gift. Wendy's never been into orbit before.

Eve smiled brightly before Wendy could reply. "That's right sweetie. Now..."

She picks her up and holds onto her with one arm, and in the other, Wally braces himself against Eve's body as her antigrav boots kick into high gear for a high-G liftoff. The fields begin shielding them from the blast and pressure of wind.

"Here We Go!" Eve shouted as she felt the Earth fall away from her, Wally and Wendy place their trust into Eve as they clenched onto her as tight as they can.

As the family rockets into the stratosphere, a thunderous crack of a sonic boom echoes throughout the landscape, but the crowds gathered around the stage don't seem the least bit drawn away, and instead, the blast of noise fuels the rising cheers and beats of the song...

_We're coming down to the ground! _

_There's no better place to go  
We've got snow up on the mountains  
We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground  
We hear the birds sing in the trees  
And the land will be looked after  
We send the seeds out in the breeze_

Like so many years ago, Wally clang onto Eve to fight against the g-forces of suchincredible speed. But felt confident enough to rather enjoy the high speed ride, like Wendy who was straightening out her arms and legs to pose like a superhero. Wally laughed at the sight, but his attention and that of Wendy's was soon perpetrated by the strange smoothness of the rough flight up, and the darkness of the sky and dead silence. As they looked around, the answer was given to them by the remarkable sight below them...

_Did you think you'd escaped from routine  
By changing the script and the scene?  
Despite all you made of it  
You're always afraid  
Of the change_

_You've got a lot on your chest  
Well, you can come as my guest  
So come on down  
Come on down_

They didn't go quite as high to see the entire planet, but just high enough to float freely in zero G, the Earth looked a little different. Not the way Wally remembered when he first say the small, pitifully exhausted planet from space. It was more like a ball of junk in space the way he remembered it. The ocean and atmospheres hazed with a disgusting phlegm-like color and unrecognizable shapes of land, continents literally made of trash. What Wally was seeing was not the Earth he remembered.

No, what he saw we're pure, puffy white clouds, a light-reflective sky on the curved horizon, the deep blue of the Atlantic ocean and the healthy greenery that spanned a portion of lower New England. This wasn't the Earth he remembered. But it was still Earth. Only now, it looked refurbished in a patch of land and sea. Just a single spot of the world that's clean.

Wendy stood frozen in place as she drank in the awe-inspiring sight of her homeworld. Even when only 300 kilometers up and the curved horizon in all directions, she never knew it looked so...small.

"Here sweetie." Eve grabbed Wendy by the shoulder, not realizing she had floated out of her parents' grasp loosened by the majesty of Mother Earth. Eve handed Wendy a downsized fire-extinguisher.

"Don't want to fly around up here without it."

Wendy smiled a real smile, cute and childish like she was given a present she shouldn't have. She was going to have fun.

Unable to contain her eagerness, she squeezes the handle of the extinguisher, rocketing away.

As Eve watched her daughter zig-zag in all directions trying to navigate, she missed Wally passing by her and towards the cluttered satellites in high orbit. She chases after him...

_We're coming down to the ground  
There's no better place to go  
We've got snow up on the mountains  
We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground  
We hear the birds sing in the trees  
And the land will be looked after  
We send the seeds out in the breeze_

They had seen Earth from orbit before, it use to not be such a pleasant sight. A world once covered in grime and littered with satellites was just unfathomably disgusting to look at. It was a wonder on how such an primative-turned-advanced civilization could taint such a beautiful and fragile planet.

_Like the fish in the ocean  
We felt at home in the sea  
We learned to live off the good land  
Learned to climb up a tree  
Then we got up on two legs  
But we wanted to fly  
When we messed up our homeland  
We set sail for the sky_

_We're coming down to the ground  
There's no better place to go  
We've got snow up on the mountains  
We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground  
We hear the birds sing in the trees  
And the land will be looked after  
We send the seeds out in the breeze_

But now, seeing the Earth from space again seemed to have a brand new view; knowing now that humans had returned for good and with the intent to reverse _everything_, it almost struck Wally and Eve that Earth was indeed, a very fascinating and beautiful planet, no matter what she was going through.

_We're coming down  
Coming down to Earth  
Like babies at birth  
Coming down to Earth  
We're gonna find new priorities  
These are extraordinary qualities_

700 years of being rendered uninhabitable is not very long considering the planet's 4.4 billion year age and of all the natural disasters the universe and nature herself threw at it. It was a cycle, the planet experiences everything from celestial impacts to tectonic displacement, all of which had lead to mass extinctions, and in the end, the planet always survived and it's always changing face weathered its scars, returning the biosphere to its natural glory as if nothing happened.

Now, after seven hundred years of being submersed in the leavings of human civilization, and upon humanity's return aboard a single starship; Earth, was once again healing back to normal.

_We're coming down to the ground_  
_There's no better place to go_  
_We've got snow up on the mountains_  
_We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground_  
_We hear the birds sing in the trees_  
_And the land will be looked after_  
_We send the seeds out in the breeze_

"Hang On!" Eve shouted over the deafening roar of re-entry. Though the fields were more than powerful enough to take the extensive heat, Wally and Wendy held onto the only person they could trust who could navigate through the satellites and into Earth's atmosphere. Eve handled her every move through the atmosphere without doubt in her mind, masterfully flying back down instead offalling like back in the early days of space flight, like that of their ancestors with their primative free falling capsules or shuttles, where everything had to go perfect, if too steep, they'll incinerate, if too shallow, they'll bounce off the atmosphere and back into space.

But not for Eve. Not with her abilities and the flickingers. As soon as they passed into the stratosphere, she spread out her arms and fell freely with them clinging on, feeling the thrill of flying as they descend rapidly towards the colony below.

_We're coming down to the ground  
There's no better place to go  
We've got snow up on the mountains  
We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground  
We hear the birds sing in the trees  
And the land will be looked after  
We send the seeds out in the breeze_

_We're gonna find new priorities  
These are extraordinary qualities_

_We're coming down to the ground_  
_There's no better place to go_  
_We've got snow upon the mountains_  
_We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground_  
_We'll hear the birds sing in the trees_  
_And the land will be looked after_  
_We send the seeds out in the breeze_

_We're coming down to the ground_  
_There's no better place to go_  
_We've got snow upon the mountains_  
_We've got rivers down below_

_We're coming down to the ground_  
_We'll hear the birds sing in the trees_  
_And the land will be looked after_  
_We send the seeds out in the breeze_

_Redefine your priorities_  
_These are extraordinary qualities_  
_To find on earth_

_Comin' down, comin' down_  
_Comin' down, comin' down_  
_Comin' down, comin' down_  
_Comin' down..._

**_coming...down!_**

Eve makes a perfect touchdown right in the same area where she lifted off from, nine orbits ago, only right next to Jon instead of the tree. With fireworks everywhere and the final notes played, they hardly jumped at the sudden entry and the entire crowd erupted into applause at the epic display. Almost as if in confusion, Wally and Eve to everyone around them for her pinpoint landing next to Jon, who bowed for his performance.

Checking the time, Wally realized that now that they were back on the ground, with a few seconds to spare of the seventeen they began with when they took off, they were just in time for the last of the show.

"Evah..." Wally turned her around to get her attention. "...guess what! We're back just in time. And right where we needed to be too."

"So what's falling in place for your little plan?"

"Oh...you'll see." Wally looks over to Jon and McCrea who have retreated to the back of the stage and nodded in return. It was time for the last song.

The murmuring of the crowd died out instantly as the stage suddenly went dark. Things started to change around them as a three dimensional grid of light engulfed the darkened stage. The dim lights pulsated and pulsated until it faded into blackness like nightfall in the middle of evening. Yet in the darkness, something changed in the shape of unknown silhouettes within the enclosed stage.

Different light sources came from what looked like street oil lamps that lit up around the stage out of nowhere. It remained somewhat darker than usual with the _Axiom's_ lights on, giving the atmosphere around them a soft, comforting night glow that felt safe and intimate.

As the new lighting illuminated the stage, it suddenly didn't look like the stage it was, instead of the artificial instruments, the colorful dioramas of the last performance, and flashy metallic show lights, it turned green and lush, with trees, a sidewalk and a bench, and ancient backdrops of 19th century buildings lining the trees.

A spot light shone down on Wally and Eve gasped in shock and wonderment at what she saw.

Instead of being in his regular clothing he was where just moments ago, Wally was somehow dressed in finely pressed, detailed gray suit, a earth-brown vest, red bow-tie and shiny black shoes. His hair was neatly combed to the back of his head in a freshly groomed manner. How did he change into those in mere seconds in the darkness?

She put her hands up to her mouth in surprise, and noticed something else. She didn't recall wearing extremely comfortable looking dress gloves...

She looked down and stood astonished as she looked herself over. Somehow, instead of wearing her civilian clothes, she rather was wearing a _very_ different attire. She wore a comfortable and exquisite Victorian dress in all sorts of shades of red, that made her crystal blue eyes shine out more than ever before; silver wrist-length gloves, a long scarlet silk gown with a crimson red blouse that blended fittingly to the shape of her slender torso, making it look classic, yet elegant to her taught body, and most of all, beautiful.

The crowd and even Wally awed collectively at her sudden change of appearance drawing so much eyes to her. Especially Wally, who gazed at her as stunned as he was when she wore her wedding gown. No matter what Eve wore, her beauty somehow looks more intensified, making Wally more drawn to her.

The soft jingle of ancient, 1960's romantic music played. The crowd suddenly applauded wildly as the first notes played out, they immediately recognized it as the always memorable loving tone of Wally and Eve's most treasured song. And the latter's just froze in surprise remembering how her and her husband so oddly resemble the two faces in the song in question; or more appropriately..._their_ song. None other than Cornelius and Irene Molly, the destined couple of _It Only Takes A Moment_.

The cue for Wally's character, Cornelius, to sing began and Eve squealed like a school girl in excitement for their song to come, reenacting the exact same song as they did on the night of their wedding exactly seven years ago, and now about to relive it.

But as the exact moment as she had seen in the movie came and went with no voice of Cornelius played when it should, Eve was taken aback. Was something wrong with the recordings?

On cue, in the moment, and in character, Wally steps toward her, facing Eve and holding her hand tight. Then did something Eve had never seen him do so beautifully before, and maybe never as beautiful again.

Wally began singing to her.

_"It only… takes a moment…" _Cornelius, the only persona that could be voiced and impersonated in this manner.

_"…For your eyes to meet…and then…_

_…Your heart knows… in a moment…_

_…You will never… be alone again…"_

Eve was, without disappointment, totally shocked beyond belief. She had to keep herself from girlishly giggling out loud and crying in joy from seeing her husband singing their song. His voice sounded soothing and practiced, he still had rough vocal cords, but it didn't matter to Eve. He was singing _their_ song by himself, to her.

His singing voice had now just become the most beautiful thing Eve has ever heard.

_"...I held her...for an instant..._

_...But my arms felt sure...and strong..._

_...It only...takes a moment..._

_...To be loved...a whole life long..."_

Governor McCrea and Jon joined the duo, not entirely blended into the background enough if this were an actually play. And loud enough for McCrea's voice to resound his rehearsed lines of this point in the _IOTAM_ movie, acting as the clerk.

_"I missed a few words back there, Jon. Right after 'it only'-"_

_"...Takes a moment!" _Everyone in the entire audience said simultaneously, they too had shared the wonderful passion of such a song, and had learned and loved as much about it was the most famous couple on Earth did.

Then, the crowd started swaying side-to-side, singing to the tones they remember so vividly, down to the last background choir note...

_"...For your eyes to meet...and then..._

_...Your heart knows...in a moment..._

_...You will never...be alone again..."_

_"He held her...for an instant..._

_...But his arms felt sure...and strong..._

_...It only...takes a moment..."_

She felt her eyes moisten, glimmering so bright and loving, making Wally weak at his knees.

Eve felt so overcome with happiness seeing how not only has Wally put together the greatest surprise and anniversary gift of all time, but with so many people involved, just for her. And she still couldn't get over the fact that she just heard Wally's own voice put into melody of the their treasured song, like he had somehow made it possible to describle everything he felt of the incomprehensible purity of their love.

Somewhere inside Eve, she felt something take control of her actions, and started stepping towards Wally as she felt her own voice seep up and fill the void of unsung words of their relationship.

She started singing too, her voice as beautiful as the music itself, as much as the love she wanted to convey to Wally.

Eve didn't need a cue for their song, she knew it and sang before by heart;and she now literally singing her heart to Wally as he had done for her.

_"He held me...for an instant..._

_...But his arms felt safe...and strong..._

_...It only...takes a moment..._

_...To be loved...a whole life long..."_

They found themselves not role-playng their favorite characters of Cornelius and Irene, they _became_ Cornelius and Irene.

"_And that is all...__That love's about..."_

"_And we'll recall...when time runs out..."_

_"That it only...took a moment..._

_...To be loved..._

_...a whole... _

_...life... _

_...long!"_

Wally and Eve's voices resounded the final note throughout the plain of the open concert, and faded into thunderous applause. As soon as their voices faded, Eve couldn't contain herself from the sweetest and utterly most brilliant surprise he has ever given her, and locked her lips sensuously with his as everyone applauded even louder for the happiest couple on Earth. Except for Wendy, who stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Eeww" Wendy said as she watched her mother and father kiss on stage.

They kissed long, completely tuned out of the world around them even as Wally broke the kiss and looked at his wife with a broad smile.

"Surprise." Wally calmly said. "Happy anniversary, Evah."

That drew a giggling fit out of Eve, but also a stir of happy feelings remembering that it was 7 years to the day since they first kissed.

And then they resumed kissing, but with all the passion that could flow through them, holding each other and succumbing to the pleasure of their connection as they did on that day. Wally running his fingers through her long vanilla mane of hair as Eve moaned to the smoothness of his touch, and carassed him tighter, not wanting to let go of him.

The two lovers parted slowly and rested their heads on each other's shoulders, in the moment of just being together, dancing privately for what felt like several minutes.

Just holding each other softly, feeling the stimulation of each other's love move them back and forth as they slow danced together, humming to the soothing melody of a soft ballads in the back ground, subconsciously in euphoria...

...until Eve felt Wendy nagging on her dress.

"Mommy, daddy…"

"Hm?" Wally and Eve looked down questioningly at their daughter, who (rarely-seen) looked energy-spent, she yawned a large gulp of breath to stay standing. "…I'm tired, can we go home?"

They looked around to see the crowds have slowly dissipated and went back to their homes. "Oh my!" Wally looked up to see the red sun had crept below the horizon, turning the sky deep purple and the black of night well approaching.

Eve smiled and took Wendy's hand, lead the three out of the ship. "Alright sweetie, let's go home."

Eve picks up a sleepy eyed Wendy and leaves the stage with Wally. As they do, their Cornelius and Irene outfits dematerialize into nothingness, having left the barrier of the interactive holostage, now back in their original civilian clothing. It felt like coming back to reality from a dream. And as reluctant as they are to leave such a place to live their most treasured characterization of their love, they can always feel more in each other's love once they get home and into bed...

* * *

As Wally and Eve briskly walked their way back to their home in happily spent-tiredness and silence, Wally let his mind wander between Eve and the night sky above him. The stars shined way more brightly than they did years ago, and they were a wonder to see every night, knowing that he had been to some of them on that journey in the A.R.V., trying to stay with Eve.

He looked over to the said woman, holding hands with her as they walked. She reminded him of how wonderful the night sky seemed and how the sky reminded her. The two beauties of Eve and the cosmos have totally masked his senses of his surroundings. He thought back to when they danced, what felt like a moment holding each other in the passage of time was actually several hours. Now, Wally was at the beginning of understanding advanced human knowledge and theories, but he often wondered that the love-filled moments he shared with Eve were so precious that he often confused them with time travel; where time for them slowed down and time around them sped up unnoticed.

Speaking of unnoticed, Wally's foot steps onto an uneven bump in the ground, making him tumble over.

"Wally? Are you alright?" Eve stops and lowers down to Wally, wondering what that was all about. Though Eve was startled out of her trance, Wendy failed to stay awake and she fell asleep in her mother's arms just a half-way on their 5 kilometer trek home.

Wally lifted himself up to his feet, brushing off his pants as he fell in the dusty road.

"We're you daydreaming again?" Eve giggled when she saw the trace of wonderment in his eyes, she understood what he was thinking; most likely about how beautiful she was or how happy he felt with her or of the like.

Wally blushed a bit, knowing he yet again had been caught gazing out. But, he's done it so many times he might as well say so.

"Mmm, just thinking about the stars." He points up to the sky, and then to her. "…and you. They keep reminding me about you and you keep reminding me of them. Where you came from and when we went to the _Axiom_. I can see so many things that keep relating to both you and the stars. I'm so blinded by beauty."

Eve giggled; he could come up with a thousand and one ways to describe their deep feelings, from poetic to scientific.

"You always find a way to sound so sweet."

They take each others hands again and continue down the now remarkably clean and green road towards home.

Though still half a kilometer to go, they were walking up the path that was part of their 'frontyard'. Outside and around the house was a lush, green garden with a mix of multi-colored plants and seedlings that stretched all the way down the dirt path from their home towards the old city, down a slight slope that had once been the on ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge which now looked more like a dirt hill, being reclaimed by the Earth.

Even at night with only the moon and ground lights to guide them, Wally admired the beautiful scenery of the thousands of different species of flowers that populated their very own front yard Garden of Eden, they were all of Eve's creations. She was a gardener of her own kind. She essentially turned the whole landscape of the sector green and here was where she had managed to plant even on the surface of the remainants of a concrete/steel suspension bridge. Wally was surprised to just how talented his wife really was.

Due to the bridge being eroded beyond repair as well as energy bridges being put in place, the colony didn't feel the necessity to rebuild it and relocate The Burtt's home; besides, it didn't pose a danger to their home while on concrete/soil foundation, and it made a great elevated 'patio' for heir home, providing an impressive view of the colony below.

Home for Wally was pretty much anywhere with his family, but when it came to living standards; their place on the Brooklyn Bridge hadn't changed in location, but physically looked changed drastically for the better.

A converted A.E.V. fitted with the very truck Wally had spent most of his life in, only both had been disassembled and rebuilt with different materials and modules; forming a new, elegantly designed single story and single entry house with two bedrooms (Wendy's and the open master room just next to Wendy's), a living room, hygiene room, and a kitchen. It looked small on the outside, but spacious and comfortable for the three.

Wally takes the sleeping form of Wendy from Eve to ready for bed and takes Wendy to her room, it was as adorned as Wally's when he was living alone; with almost all of his prized trinkets, knickknacks, the makeshift TV that had the _Hello Dolly_ movie player, and oddities given to her to learn and play with, much like he did. But most of the things she had were newer salvaged things, for another thing Wally liked about his redefined purpose in garbage collecting was that Wendy often help cleaned up with him, and in the process would find new things to take home. Wally couldn't be anymore happier to have his daughter help out with the recolonization efforts and have fun with it; she was so much like him.

He gently slips Wendy into her bed and tucked her in. Wally also grabs her favorite toy and slipped it in her sleeping arms, and she subconsciously smiled as she snuggled with it once it was in her arms. It was a very old, tattered, stuffing missing, but well-intact cowboy doll named Woody.

It was Wally's once, one of his oldest possessions that he first found amongst the landfills, it was probably the only possession he had left of his past life, so close it was his companion. It had been his source of warmth for so many years after the death of his mother and helped him see through the darkest years of his life. Then one day he had lost it in the chaos, heartbroken like he had lost his only friend, and never thought of it again until recently when Wendy found it in the garbage piles, still intact as it was decades ago.

It had almost brought Wally to tears at seeing the stuffed doll again, filled with good and terrible memories; he let himself hold the doll one last time after Wendy found it, and finally gave it to her. Now it was Wendy's source of warmth, her companion.

Taking one last, loving look at Wendy, Wally retreats to the master bedroom; a circular space with large, darkening, crystal window-walls adorned with holo-pictures, trinkets, a dresser, a shelf lined with several thick books of lost knowledge reclaimed from the trash, and some very special flowers hand-picked from Eve's garden. His faithful canine friend Hal slept contently by the corner, having patiently awaited their return from the celebration but slept to early to see them again, but he will tomorrow though. A huge master bed with silk sheets and pillows dominated the center of the secluded room, lying directly under a transparent, operable ceiling that darkened the light of day and enhanced the starlight of night. This was a very peaceful place that sealed Wally and Eve off from the rest of the world, a place where it was only just the two of them to rest and to love. Their own little slice of heaven.

Already Eve lay sprawled facing up in the cream-colored sheets, with nothing on but her alluringly distracting, silver-colored silk night gown, awaiting her husband to join her. Letting out a yawn, Wally undresses down to his sweats and shirt. He slips under the covers where Eve tiredly wraps herself around him in a tight embrace, adding more comfort to the memory-foam mattress with the company of each other.

Wally stares up to the ceiling, or rather, to the stars, noticing how the Moon was already at its highest in the sky. Outside, they could hear slight winds picking up. On a breezy, starlit night like this, Wally and Eve won't let the opportunity to pass for a little enjoyment of a seldom night breeze under a majestic light show as the dark blue sky twinkled of trillions of distant stars and planets, back dropped by the disk of the reflective Moon after a long walk home.

With a wave of his hand over the counter next to the bed, the ceiling glass soundlessly opens and the cool, summer wind blows a slight breeze into the room, bathing the couple in bliss and the precious full moon light.

As they both dwell in the tranquility of the wind blowing into the room, Wally reminisces the very good day up to this point, a good time to sleep in, wake up to a tickle torture, a great long walk to the ship, around it, dancing, music, old friends, the spacewalk, their song… and this beautiful night to lay back and look up in awe with the woman he loved to death. Oh what a beautiful June 28th it was.

Coincidentally it was also Wally's 37th birthday as well, as best as anyone could guess; though they didn't do what anyone else does traditionally involving cake or presents for each new year of age, he was satisfied that all he could ever want was to celebrate the return with everyone he knew.

Somehow reminded of how old he was and how he lived so far, Wally tilted his head over to the adorned crystal window-walls of their room, almost every square inch of them overlapped with holographic moving pictures of the last seven years on Earth with Eve.

He slowly looked over every picture that changed into another to cherish the memories of the past seven years. The larger pictures showing his most memorable, such as him and Eve sharing a kiss in the same hospital bed during his recovery on that fateful day, both of them bandaged and in tears of happiness; to Wally, McCrea, Eve, and Moe standing in front of the_ Axiom _with the plant in the ground and thousands of people cheering. Then there were the moving pictures of him and Eve at their wedding, dancing while holding each other and staring into one another's eyes; the next with him passionately holding Eve from behind while standing in front of their new home, his head resting on her shoulder and his hands interlocking around her five month pregnant belly with her own hands, and then to them holding a week old Wendy in a still, black and white frame, smiling and in glimmering eyes of total joy.

The rest showed him, Bernie, Moe, Va-Qum, and the crew of the Axiom working through the wastelands for the cleanup, Eve triumphantly holding up a fresh corn from the first successfully grown crop on Earth with a group of farmer trainees; Eve at her promotion ceremony receiving her rank of Commander, with a very proud Captain McCrea pinning her uniform with an even prouder Wally and three year old Wendy applauding along with the entire _Axiom_ population present.

And finally, Wally's personal favorite, him and Eve sitting on the same bench he took her when she was frozen to watch the sunset, a crimson red sky illuminating them in an intimate glow of them cuddling into each other when Eve captured the moment on camera with the trash can in the background that still bore the heart and _Wally + Eve _inscription he etched in so long ago, also with what Eve etched in it with his laser: ..._Forever._

The pictures were countless, almost anything he saw was a beautiful and noteworthy image in time to be captured, like collecting a trinket. He only wished he could add their dance together to the holoscreens, what other way to celebrate his new life and the return of life to Earth by just enjoying making his wife happy, from big surprises to little common things in the day or night to cherish.

Wally looks over to Eve, her hands interlocked with his as she stares off into the ceiling and to the stars. And of course, he thought, not to forget to celebrate by thanking Eve for the greatest gifts he could ever get on this mark of a day long since passed.

The day that the ship returned to Earth, the day she saved him, and kissed him.

"What?" Eve smiled as she notices that her husband was starring ever so happily at her. Wally realizes he had been caught by her beautiful eyes that rivaled the clearest of night skies, including this one.

"Nothing…" He sighed as he kept looking at her admiringly, "...just…thinking about how beautiful you look in this moonlight."

Eve blushed as Wally conjures on how he truly feels of her beauty, never failing to make her feel so special.

"…and how much better life gets every day with you."

Eve sighed in relaxation, and raised a questioning yet teasing brow at his statement.

"So being happily married for seven years, starting a family, living easy, having an entire colony of friends, taking us to the _Axiom_, seeing Moe, Jon, Mary, McCrea, the concert, our space dance, singing our song together, our walk in the night, and this little moonlight bathing is going to be outmatched tomorrow and every day on, eh?"

"Yup." Wally simply replied.

Eve shifted in the bed to face him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Really?" She spoke in a nonchalantly but in a soft curious voice. "How so?"

Wally chuckled slightly and continued, but with more of his heart.

"It mean's I get to live another day with you my love, so I can have more experiences and memories like that, knowing that I spent those seven years and can spend the rest of my days because of you. Before, I had lived through meaninglessness and near-death. After saving my life, I owe you this much to make you smile every day. Your happiness is _my_ happiness. And I'm glad to be with you, right now and henceforth, to live with _and _for you."

Eve's crystalline blue eyes began to well up as she remembered what he was saying, the exact same time of day just years prior to that fateful moment, the moment he woke from the dead, and held her hand.

"Wally..." Her throat tightened, though as much of the most wonderful moment in their lives, she couldn't help but wonder. "...I-I couldn't have been able to live on without you. When you...died. I...I felt likeI wanted to die with you."

He felt a ping of sadness grip his insides, remembering full well how Eve had been so distraught and hopeless, believing that he really was lost forever. She once told him of her considering if he had never woken up, she would've died with him, to join him in the eternal abyss of whatever lay beyond death.

And he told her of what happened to him in that time period, feeling nothing and floating within nothingness, like in the vastness of outer space. He wondered if they did die together, that forever expansive limbo would at least be luminescent by the presence of the two lovers, to spend their afterlives together forever. But he dismissed those ideas already, they were alive; he was alive, and now they could cherish everything they never had until the fates decide it was time for them to pass.

Tenderly, Wally caresses the face of Eve who lay facing him with moist eyes.

"Evah...I know. I would've thought to do so if you were lost from me too. But we're here, alive and well, and happy all because of you. And not to mention that we had Wendy because of your preserverence in my life. I owe my soul to you to see you smile for as long as we live. I wouldn't want it any other way...I love you, Evah."

The nth most touching thing ever he has said to her today, their song included, there was no other man on this world who was as devoted to see his wife happy every single moment with his own words; and would never allow anything to come between them.

Wally and Eve turned and huddled closer, both of their eyes' moist of unshedded tears. Eve took a moment to just look at him as his resounding words made her melt, entranced by the radiant love in his large, spectacled hazel eyes that shone silvery while bathed in the reflective lunar light.

It was true, that because of her existence in his life, he was given the power by her to bring mankind back to its homeworld, and had found a reciprocal for his lonely soul. In many ways, Wally believed that it was Eve that should be the hero. But they both knew that without one another, finding their purposes in one another and everything that had brought the human race back together, would never have been possible.

Touched by his words, Eve reaches out to Wally and kisses him, taking both of his hands and putting them around her so he could pull her to him.

Returning the intimate gesture, he presses her soft body into his as Eve caresses his thin and calloused chest. Despite now living a healthy life being more well feed in a day than he ever did in a year as a cleanup worker and having less hazardous work conditions, Wally's body was still skinny and horribly scarred from his lifetime wounds, some of them were from Eve's desperate field surgery to rebuild his body, broken by the battle for the _Axiom_. They left their mark as a reminder for how close he came to truly dying, atoning for all the other wounds that had nearly took his life from her, since long before she came to Earth.

There were too many injuries on his body to keep track of the passage of time in his lonely and painful existence; some of his past he dared not to remember or tell about to Eve, at least not yet, unlike some experiences that made their mark on him that he did tell about made her feel horrified, shocked, saddened, or even proud sometimes. Wally physically bordered on unattractive to female's standards of male appearance; but as for him being her soulmate who, despite her initial hostility to him, had traveled across the galaxy and nearly died for her, with even more marks ravaged into him as proof of his commitment to do and/or give up anything for her, he was more than worthy of her intimate touch that they both **never _ever_ **took for granted. As much as they will treasure every waking moment together.

"I love you so much, Wally..." She spoke between breaths of air for each long and deep kiss, even planting one on his chest, over the scars covering his rebuilt pacemaker. "...More than you'll ever know."

Wally felt so fortunate to behold such a white-haired beauty as Eve; there could never be another soul like Eve, a woman who could endure and give so much in the simplest of ways to Wally. Her heart, his new life, and their child. It made him more in love with her by the moment he thought of it.

They busied themselves with giving in to each other, Wally dared not to break from the kissing as he carefully pulled the blankets up and placed a pillow under Eve's head and massaging her back as he caressed her with him over her. Protective, caring, warming, and safe.

Eve felt so fortunate, sometimes undeserving, to have Wally as her soulmate. Here was a man who is faithfully devoted to how she felt and how happy she was, his touch made her feel so delicate, cherished, like the most important thing in the whole known universe. He was so pure, so committed to her happiness that it was strange he calls her an angel, its no doubt that _he_ was an angel of a man.

In the seven years they were married, Wally and Eve hardly ever had a disagreement, or held any indifference against each other for their flaws or from the vastly peculiar lives they came from. For they always remembered that they owed each other their lives after being tried and tested through their journey; they were a match to be, perfected by the innocence and compassion molded into them by being brought up by living impossibly different lives. And despite representing polar opposites of humankind: him a humble, feral servant and her a gorgeous astronautical woman, they had the most inseparable hearts of all.

Eve tightened her legs around Wally and switched positions, with him under her as she straddling his hips; Wally soon felt the swelling that threatened to hint an intention for the way she pressed herself on him, but he did not resist the urge, and rather surrendered to it. She kissed him fiercely as she riffled her fingertips through his unruly scalp, which is due for another haircut soon. Wally held her as he kissed her every perfection on her alluring body, his kisses moving from her soft lips, cheeks, down her neck and to her breasts as he slid his hands underneath her nightgown; slowly feeling every inch of her up from her seductively firm thighs, past her smoothly curved hips to the small of her bare back. Eve giggled as he passed a couple of ticklish spots on her sides with his calloused and prosthetic fingertips. She then moaned in delight while he nibbled on the peaks of her breasts through her thin if-not transparent gown, closing her eyes and surrendering herself to her husband's tender touch.

The sweet intoxication of nibbling Eve's soft and firm womanly chest, combined with hearing the even sweeter sound of her in such heavenly bliss fueled Wally's insatuable need to pleasure her even more. He wanted to love his wife into senselessness, to show physically how much he loved her.

Eve locks kisses with Wally as he toyed lovingly with her body, his gentle hands moving from her tight abdominan down southward, underneath her satin panties toward her womanhood area, making her gasp through her deep kiss with him. Even with Wally between her thighs, Eve could barely quench her burning desire to want even more of him, his delicate touch of inticing ecstasy made her dig her fingernails into Wally's skin as his passionate touching found the right spots, making Eve moan even louder in pleasure, unable to resist being smitten by such intimate foreplay any longer. Eve takes her sweet time in taking each others clothes off without even parting for air nor Wally protesting of her undressing him, for the heat of the moment was too much to ignore, as both of their desires told them that they needed more of each other.

As the last articles of clothing are discarded, Wally and Eve forget everything about the outside world upon seeing the bareness of each others' bodies. Looking at each other and into each others eyes as if they were the world itself. Wally couldn't believe that the nude, one and only angel of a young woman whom he held was everything of the definition of beautiful, who saved his life and his soul from never experiencing the wonder things in the universe could give him, a beautiful soul of a woman who has given him a reason to live; and was all his to love and care for. Eve couldn't believe that the grizzled man before her who was such a kindred, childish, noble and faithful soul whose large innocent eyes could harbor anything in them; seeing whole lifetimes worth of longing and pain bottled within the one and only such soul with those eyes. A pure soul of a man whose pain has been banished forever, who has become her whole universe and her reason to live; has made such a bond with her that could not be shaken nor outshined by any mortal. And would do anything to fulfill her deepest wishes, was all hers to love and cherish.

No matter how many times they've slept together, they never ceased to be amazed by one another; not out of lust, but out of intimacy. And out of their gratefulness that they could, and not retained by either temper, impotency, or sterility. Their love as blossoming, bright, lively, and as beautiful as the first time on the night of their wedding. They lost their collective breathes as they lunged for each other, about to make such wonderful love once again.

That is until the creaking of the door interrupted the moment.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Wendy whispered with a slight-twinge of fear in her voice.

Wally and Eve's eyes jolted open and turned around in surprise, but safely not caught too deep in the moment when the door completely opened. Revealing Wendy with her doll and nibbling on her forefinger, uncertain of something.

"What is it, Wendy?" Wally asked in concern, wondering how a sound-asleep girl could come in here so suddenly. His shirt and sweats were gone but kept his boxer shorts, Eve had only the blankets to cover up, but her undergarments and her discarded gown were close enough for her to put back on.

"Can I sleep with you and mommy? I don't want to be in the dark alone."

Eve and Wally looked at each other sympathetically, the afterglow of the shattered moment all but faded away. While they loved their own flesh and blood daughter, they still couldn't risk the exposure of how she came to be with what they were almost doing.

Eve gave Wally a reassuring smile, the moment was taken but it's only for tonight. And they _always_ made up for lost moments together better than the previous times.

Wally smiled to Wendy. "Of course you can sweetheart, come sleep with us." He patted an open spot next to him.

"Thanks Daddy." Wendy smiled brightly as she climbed up to the edge of the bed with her doll in hand, and snuggled into Wally's side. Sure enough she fell asleep immediately in the safety of her father's company.

Wally turns to Eve to see succumbing to sleep too. Sighing tiredly, but with a trace of the previous intimate moment in him, he gently lays his head down on her chest, nuzzling comfortably between her soft, perfect breasts, feeling her slow and shallow breathing and pulse. He plants a nibbling kiss directly over her heart, gaining a small moan out of her. He looks up to see her stroke her slender fingers through his messy hair with a faint smile on her face before Eve fell asleep completely, taking the bliss of her lover's tender touch with her into peaceful slumber.

As she slept, Wally slowly and tenderly placed his arms around her seductive midsection, and planted a soft kiss on her strong abdominmen, which, as Eve had discovered only days prior and had also been another reason to extraordinarily happy, was carrying the growing embryo of his unborn second child thanks to the steady number of nights spent by their love-making.

He looks in between Wendy and to Eve's midsection and smiled; for he can hardly wait to tell her the surprise. Wendy did not know yet that in seven months or so she was going to be a sister. Though she is quite a handful to keep in line and out of trouble, that was part of his child and he loved her for it. Wally wondered about how this underway son or daughter might keep Wendy occupied with a sibbling companion, he could see it in his mind, with Wendy having so much fun with a little brother or sister just as hyper as she was, causing such hectic activity and being such an active duo. The image and the idea of raising more children made him smile widely.

Now at the edge of losing consciousness himself, Wally sets his glasses aside, lays down on his back and caressed Eve and Wendy in both arms; he looked up into the stars as he once did long ago, the night before he meet the angel in his arms that changed his life, and all human life, forever. He looked between his family in his arms and the star field of the night sky; he looked at the stars not in hopelessness and longing, but in gratitude and wonder about how life can be so mysterious to how events play out for a human being, regardless of how they were brought into existence. After thirty years, since birth, of living through nothing but forced labor, unjustified prejudice, pain, suffering, and death itself, his life was finally paying off with long overdue happiness and a family he never had. He was feeling more fortunate than probably any other human in history.

Before he falls to sleep for another gift of another day spent living with his beloved, he took hold of Eve's hand, and felt that she subconsciously squeezed back, a loving, dreamy smile on her lips.

Wally smiled as his eyes close over the tranquil image of his pregnant wife and child (or rather to be soon, children) in his arms. Indeed, as Cornelius said as he took Irene's hand; the same outcome of life fell upon Wally as he held her close, feeling so strong through life and love, all to it was to just hold her hand.

Life couldn't be anymore beautiful.

And that was all that love's about…

They'll recall when time runs out…

That it only took a moment…

to be loved…a whole life long.

* * *

_-THE END-_

* * *

**A/N: HHHOOOOOOORAY! It Is Done! And it shall be so now and forever! No more worrying about finishing it any more...except for editing if need be...**

**If you've spotted the references above to other movies or shows, message me about what you think they are, and since their indirect hopefully i won't get in trouble for them.**

**Anyway, for all the following internet names for such great people who have read, reviewed, praised, criticized, corrected, and improved this story, you are all i must thank...**

**Yosep - How could i have not made it through without a critic to watch out for my every slip and screw up to keep it as close to the chosen rating as possible. For every good story, there is always wrongs to be corrected and opinion to be heard to voice over the tiny details that could make all the difference. Thank you times ten to the twenty third for you my friend!**

**NintendoGal55 - Thank you _Sooooo_ much for being a fan reader from page one, and have offered help with chapters and ideas here and there. It wouldn't have solved the plot holes without you!**

**KreeBlackFeather - I mean - Pumpkin2Face - I commend you for your ideas and the feedback you've given me that you have so enthusastically shared. And i hope you too finish your version of humanized wall-E**

**Blank Existance - My fellow writter, intellectual, and Wall-E admirer, thank you for all your insights and a shared understanding for the themes of this Pixar masterpiece was conveying. As humans, we can do quite literally anything, as so much as we are willing to learn and prosper in self-control rather than blind desires and sloth. (PS the last chapter was inspired by your story, so thats double the amout of thanks for insight). **

**whew, finally at peace. **

**I'll still be on doing some editting here and there, I know i had ALOT of trouble and time putting this chapter together with such dialogue and things happening. And though i'm not a first class writer (since this is my first fanfic to be published), i am going to read through it all again to be sure to edit some things and get itfrom descent to good. I do hope that it was a good read for you all. **

**Feel free to message me some ideas about editting if you have any. Don't forget to review!**

**'Til next time, hope you enjoyed my written rendition of Wall-E and hope to be read by others across the internet, the glode, and civilization for generations to come.**

**Thank you and hope to write for you next time:)**

**- Whodarep08**

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_**END TRANSMISSION...**_

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